Rescue Me
by nastone
Summary: Before joining the Five - 0 task force, Steve had rescued a Senator's daughter and heiress some years ago. Now she's back in his life - Steve/ OC
1. Chapter 1

_**Hi everyone, thanks for following my Steve and Sarah story. I will be starting the sequel once the second season starts. In the meanwhile I have decided to start a new story. Please review this and let me know how it is. If after a few chapters its not working, I'll not continue with the story. **_

**Chapter One**

Her body was getting colder by the minute and she had no idea when this would end. She knew there would be no rescue; no one knew where they were, so all she could hope for was a quick death.

She wished she had done things differently, not talked to those guys. Her instincts had always been good, but this time she had ignored them. Instead choosing to let lose like her friends had told her she needed to. So she had and look where that landed her.

One moment she was standing in a crowded nightclub in Paris and the next she was waking up in a cold room with stonewalls, her limbs tied together, and all she had for protection was her thin slip she had worn under her dress. She still didn't know whether anyone had noticed she was missing and for how long, for the time had stretched and melded into one continuous night with no sight of day.

She had absolutely no idea how long she had been here, she had slipped in and out of consciousness, only aware of a man coming in and checking on her. He wore a ski mask, but he was big and smelled of stale smoke and alcohol. Luckily he never touched her other than to check for a pulse and shake her aware to make her eat the slop they gave her.

A few hours ago, or days ago, who knew, she had been taken to what looked like a doctor's exam room and had been given a humiliating exam. They all spoke French but she didn't speak it fluently and her brain was too muddled to understand it. The masked doctor had poked and prodded her intimately to the point where she was starting to wonder if she was in a horrible Sci-fi movie or a dream. She was still waiting to wake up from this nightmare.

Just as that thought made her head spin, she started to lose consciousness again and like always welcomed the blackness, hoping she would never wake up from it.

-X-

Lieutenant Steven J. McGarrett led his Navy SEAL team through the black night toward what looked like an abandoned apartment complex. There were no lights on since there was obviously no electricity connected; they had already checked that earlier. There were sparsely lit windows, probably from emergency lamps.

He used hand signals to communicate since they were not using any of their communication equipment in case they were discovered. This was a sensitive rescue operation. The victim was none other than Senator Morales' daughter Naomi, who also happened to be an heiress. If the motive for kidnapping had been for money, it would have been much simpler. However this was more sadistic.

It had been almost six weeks since Naomi Morales had been kidnapped without a trace. But luckily, her ditzy friend had been able to ID the guy she had been seen leaving the nightclub with, stumbling drunk, which was probably not caused by alcohol at all. Now through an extensive investigation that had involved almost all the top agencies in the US, they had traced her whereabouts to this dingy apartment complex. That is when his SEAL team had been sent in.

Steve flipped the cover on the dial of his watch, they had exactly forty minutes to get in, get the girl and get out. There was no time to dally. He looked over at Spoon, his best surveillance guy. They were hiding in the bushes near the complex and had set up a thermal devise to pick out which rooms were inhabited. Currently the rooms that were inhabited were the top floors, so that was where they would start.

Steve signaled his men to follow as he left his hiding place and moved toward the building. They were eight of them and each of them moved stealthily, like they had been trained to. Steve moved to the back of the building and saw a broken window leading to what looked like an underground cellar.

He managed to signal Cobra and Sam to follow his lead. Still silently they managed to get into the basement. It was dark and they tuned on their night vision equipment. There were four floors in this building and according to the info Spoon had given them they needed to get to the top floor. Still quietly they climbed the dark stairwell, it was obviously a back stairwell instead of the main one, there were no lights anywhere.

As they approached the floor they wanted, they heard raucous male laughter. Steve moved closer to the source of the noise and peaked in. He watched as five men sat around a table playing cards and drinking. The radio was on playing French music.

He signaled to the men to stay put till he got to the girl, as he moved to the room next door, it was the most plausible place for her to be in.

He stealthily moved into the room and through the open window he could clearly see her huddled on the ground, her arms tied with handcuffs and chains to the wall, so were her small feet. She looked vulnerable, no bigger than a child. Her dark hair was stringy and covered most of her face, she looked to be dead, but he could see her small body shivering from cold, covered in nothing but a dirty white dress, that in a past life may have been a pretty, lacy little slip.

He moved quietly toward her huddled form and quickly covered her mouth before she screamed and alerted the men in the other room. As he did this, her body gave a start and she turned startled green eyes to him, her expression registering shock and fear. He could make out a black eye and numerous bruises on her arms and face that he could see.

Without trying to alarm her Steve tried to calm her, he knew he looked a scary sight with his camouflage face paint, "Ma'am I'm US Navy SEAL Lt. Steve McGarrett. I'm here to rescue you so you need to be quiet for me". He saw her eyes widen as she nodded her head indicating that she understood him. "If I remove my hand you cannot scream or talk, understood?" he asked her. She nodded again as he removed his hand. His action revealed her bruised mouth and jaw.

He pulled out some more equipment and he picked the lock of the handcuff and the chain around her slim and chafed ankles. He watched her bite her lip and screw her eyes close, which could only mean she was fighting not to cry out in pain. Steve had to admire her bravery. "Can you stand?" he whispered in her ear, and he noticed as she tensed when his body came closer. She nodded again.

He helped her stand, but her legs wouldn't work, she just sagged to the floor. He felt himself melt when saw silent tears fall from her eyes, as she bit her mouth again. Without another thought he picked her up, but she muffled a soft cry of pain in his neck when he circled her torso, which could only mean either she had a few broken ribs or she was badly bruised. Either way, the girl was in pain, but she was being very brave, trying to be strong.

He moved quietly to the entrance of the room and looked out at Sam, relief showing on his face as Steve made his way toward the staircase. Unfortunately, it was then that one of the men walked out of the room and saw them. Before he could react, Sam caught him in a headlock until the man lost consciousness and moved him quietly to the ground.

Just then Steve and the team received a message from Spoon still positioned outside. There were five more men downstairs approaching from the same stairway they had taken. Steve Signaled for Sam and Cobra to take the men out in the room, while the other three members of his team informed him of their attack on the rest. Steve carried Naomi down the stairwell and watched the mayhem. He carefully set her on the floor in a corner where he knew she was far from the action. He approached one of the men who was in one of his team member's blind spots, caught him by the neck and head locked him, however the man managed to turn and attacked him. The scuffle ended with Steve having to break the guys neck and watched the horror in Naomi's eyes as she watched from her hidden corner.

As he was approaching her, he heard a noise behind him and watched as three men from the basement came up. Sam and Cobra who had by this time come downstairs, pulled out their guns, aimed and shot them. Sam proceeded to go down the basement as Cobra followed, they immediately came back up.

"Boss, three more girls held down here".

"Why didn't we know about this? We can't leave them here. Before that make sure the place is clear and then get them out" Steve directed his team as he once again went to lift Naomi.

Once they reached their vehicles, he put her in the back and watched as the rest followed. Their first stop was the US Naval base.

-X-

Naomi watched as the others piled into the vehicle, since there were more people than anticipated, she ended up being back in the big handsome SEAL's lap. It was disconcerting to feel safe in the arms of a man she had watched kill not one but two men. Granted it was all in to rescue her and the other three girls, but it was still confronting to be faced with such violence.

Although the last few days or weeks, however long it had been, had been nothing but violence. She was glad to see the other girls were not as badly injured as she had been, which probably meant they had not been there as long as she had.

She must have dosed as they drove because the next thing she knew she was in a room that was brightly lit, and after all the darkness it pierced her eyes. She was still in the SEAL's arms and when he moved to put her down on the examination table, her mind went back to the horrific examination the men had put her through.

She immediately clutched and hung on to dear life, "No, please don't leave me here". Somehow in her head, if he had rescued her, then being here with her would make her feel more comfortable.

"It's okay, I'm not going anywhere. But I think you're ribs are broken and you need to be looked at". So that's what the intense pain was.

She was put down on the examination bed and she felt her small hand being enveloped in a larger warmer one. She screwed her eyes closed and slipped into oblivion.

-X-

Steve should be back with his team, but he had promised Naomi that he was not going anywhere. She had passed out when he had laid her on the bed for the doctor to examine her, which was probably better.

Her body had sustained many injuries, including broken and bruised ribs, a dislocated shoulder, cuts and bruises from her restraints which he suspected would scar her delicate skin. He had been injured many a time in his line of duty, and he could only imagine the kind of pain she was in, both physical and emotional.

He looked at her as she slept. She was a pretty little thing, under all the bruises and pale skin. Her hair was a dark mahogany and he remembered her eyes to be green.

She had to be sedated because she had reacted badly to being touched during the rape exam, which initially had led to the speculation that she had been raped, which she hadn't been thankfully.

Considering the fact that she had been kidnapped by the white slavery ring of the Serbian mafia, it was a miracle. But then a thought came to his mind. She had obviously been saved for something special, white virgins were a high selling commodity and it was possible that was the case with her. She was after all only nineteen.

Her father, the Senator was on his way to Paris, and till then he would remain with her. His superiors had frowned upon his involvement, but he was on leave and even though he was present in the hospital, he stayed away from her.

A few hours later he received news her father landed in Paris and was on the way to the hospital. Time for him to make himself scarce. So he went to her room and was surprised she was awake.

Her face was all bruised up and her arm was in a sling. She was surrounded by security agents who looked at him expressionlessly.

"Commander McGarrett, please come in" her voice was soft as she invited him in. She looked at the agents and asked to be given some privacy. Once they left her room to stand outside, she looked at him with big green eyes, "I don't know how to thank you".

"You don't have to. I was just doing my job", Steve came closer to her and for some reason he couldn't resist touching her soft cheek. Just then she looked up.

"Just the same. Thank you" she repeated then managed to reach up as much as she could and kissed his jaw. "Goodbye Commander McGarrett".

"Bye" he smiled at her slightly, turned and left her room.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. I have to address something, in the end Naomi refers to Steve as "Commander" but his rank is actually "Lieutenant" as the event took place a few years before the present. This was pointed by one of the readers so thanks for that. Any other anomalies arise please let me know.**_

**Chapter Two**

_**Four Years Later – Governor's Ball, Honolulu, Hawaii**_

"How come I always end up looking like a waiter and you look like James Bond?" Danno asked as they entered the Governor's Ball, dressed in formals for once.

"Oh come on Danny, you don't look that bad" Steve laughed as he tried to placate his partner.

"Oh yeah? If one more pompous senator slash business man asks me for a drink I'll shoot him" He said this while smiling at an attractive blonde clearly eyeing Steve. "See? With you around I'll never get laid".

"Please, I don't want to know about your sex life" Steve reached for a glass of scotch passed around by a waiter. "I thought you were bringing a date tonight?" he asked as he took a sip of his drink.

"I was, but then she had to cancel on me".

"I'm telling you she's married. But you refuse to listen to me".

"She's not married, it's just that her job is very demanding".

"Your jobs more demanding than hers, I don't see you cancelling on her".

Danno was quiet for a moment, "What would you know? I haven't seen you dating anyone".

Steve smiled at that. He was right; he wasn't seeing anyone after he had broken up with Catherine. Even that hadn't been a relationship really, more a friends with benefits kind of arrangement. Just then the Governor approached him followed by a dark tall man, with a lovely young woman on his arm.

As they approached, he couldn't help but notice her and admire how beautiful she was; she was what one would call a classical beauty. Her hair was a rich mahogany swept to one side of her neck. She wore a dark green chiffon strapless dress that floated around her legs as she walked; her jewellery was limited to thick silver hoops and what looked like beaten silver wristbands on both wrists. As they came closer, Steve noticed the woman's piercing green eyes that stood out in her face, which had minimal make-up, only a sweep of eyeliner on those amazing eyes, and pink lip-gloss. Her cheeks looked pink but it didn't look like it was cacked with make up. Something about those eyes was familiar, but he knew he had never seen her before.

"Hello Commander McGarrett, Detective Williams, I hope you're enjoying yourselves" said the Governor, who looked very different in her black evening gown, "Where are Mr. Kelly and Ms. Kalakaua?"

"Good evening Ma'am. They are just at the bar. And yes we are enjoying ourselves" Steve replied as he shook her hand.

"Steve I would like you to meet someone. When I told him about you he insisted on being introduced to you" she turned to the man accompanying her, "Lt. Commander Steven McGarrett, Mr. Nicholas Morales and his daughter Naomi" she made the introductions but something caught her eye, "Oh I must get this. Please if you'll excuse me" and she left a stunned Steve looking at the beautiful woman standing before him.

Now he knew why those eyes were so familiar. He had never been able to forget her beautiful green eyes, even though they had been filled with fear and pain at the time. Even now he sensed wariness in her eyes as he came forward and shook her father's hand.

"I am so glad to meet you finally. You are the man who saved my daughter and I wasn't able to thank you properly" Morales gave him a firm shake and patted him on the back.

"Pleas Mr. Morales, I was just following orders. But I appreciate it" Steve gratefully accepted the thanks. He turned to Naomi and smiled, "Good evening ma'am. It's nice to meet you finally in better circumstances".

She hesitated but smiled back, as she took his offered hand, "Yes it is. I would like to thank you once again for everything you did for me and the other ladies".

Morales by now had started talking to Danny, who watched inquisitively.

"Do you know who they were?" he asked her.

"No I was never told who they were. Some security thing apparently" she waved her hand dismissively.

Morales returned, "I'll leave the two of you to get acquainted while I mingle. Thank you once again Commander McGarrett for everything" and he left.

Naomi turned to him, "If I'm not mistaken, you were only Lieutenant at the time".

"Yes. It was only two years ago that I got promoted to Lt. Commander. Can I get you anything to drink?" Steve asked her.

He noticed that she hesitated a little, "Can I come to the bar with you?" she asked, trying her best not to reveal her anxiety.

Steve just smiled and offered her his arm, through which she slipped her own arm into and rested her hand on his bicep. He hadn't realised how short she was; the top of her head only reached the middle of his chest, and that only added to her fragile air.

He remembered how he had thought she looked like a child when he had seen her abused and tied up lying huddled on the floor. She had certainly changed in appearance since then, but her manner, her hesitation and anxiety showed through to someone like him, who was trained to read body language. Even though she walked close to him, he noticed she tensed up if another person walked too close to her.

Steve could feel a protectiveness coming over him; similar to what he had felt when he had rescued her. It had been the reason he had staid with her while her father was on his way, even though his superiors had not encouraged it.

He knew they were far away from those circumstances, but he also instinctively knew she had not recovered completely from her ordeal.

-X-

When her father had persuaded her to accompany him to the Governor's Ball she had not wanted to go. She was enjoying her vacation and had not wanted to spend her evening among people she didn't know and didn't want to know. She had enjoyed the solitude and peace that the island of Hawaii had offered her; it was a different kind of peace that she had not had since she had been rescued four years ago. Even though she lived with her father in their beautiful mansion in Virginia and it was quiet and nice but it didn't offer her tranquillity.

She had never thought that coming to this boring event would bring her face to face with the man who had never been far from her mind in the past four years. As soon as she had heard his name she had been on alert; and when the Governor had walked them toward him her eyes had never left him. He looked so different from the last time she had seen him. Then he had worn his black combat uniform and his face had been covered in camouflage paint. But she had seen him in the hospital and she remembered how handsome he was.

Now dressed in a black suit, white dress shirt and slim black tie, he looked devastatingly handsome, like someone from a different world. But he was as polite as she remembered him to be.

As he led her to the bar they talked; small talk that was slightly awkward at best, almost like a first date.

"What would you like, Ma'am?" Steve asked her formally as they reached the bar.

"Just a San Pelagrino Aranciata, please. And please call me Naomi" she smiled at him, as she felt herself blush. Why was she acting all giddy like a schoolgirl with him?

It was strange really because ever since she had come back from France she had never looked at a man with interest. She just couldn't bring herself to.

Steve passed her the drink and must have noticed that she had been intently looking at every move the bar tender was making. "Do you want me to taste your drink for you?" he asked her.

"No, thank you. I just have gotten into the habit of checking my drink" she took the drink he was holding and watched as he collected his own glass of scotch.

"You don't look very comfortable inside, would you like to go to one of the balconies? It's less crowded but not isolated either" Steve had somehow guessed that she was not comfortable in crowds, but would have also hesitated to be alone with a man.

"Sure that sounds lovely" and she followed as he led the way toward one of the French doors.

"So you have been stationed in Hawaii now?" she asked just to make conversation. She had not spoken to a man alone in a long time.

"Actually, I am in the reserves now and run the Five – O Task Force for the Governor" she watched his Adam's apple bob as he took a sip of his drink. "I came back after my father passed away. I grew up in Hawaii".

"I am sorry to hear about your father. I hear he was in the Police Department. Was his death in the line of duty?" when she saw him tense up a little she tried to apologise, "I am sorry that was a very personal question".

"No, no that's fine. I guess you could say he died in the line of duty. He was murdered by some one I have been unable to get as yet".

"I am sure you will succeed. You seem very determined" she sipped her drink, "You managed to rescue me".

Steve looked at her and she could feel his gaze in the dark. The balcony was lit just by lanterns that gave it a romantic air, "If you don't mind my asking, are you doing okay?" he asked her.

Naomi had no idea how to answer him. She couldn't tell him the truth, it was too personal and she hardly knew him, even if he had rescued her. So she put on the mask she usually wore when she was asked this question, "I am doing alright" she didn't get the same satisfaction as she usually did when she had evaded the questions about her captivity. "I have my good and bad days".

She had looked down and had not seen him move till she felt his touch on her chin, pulling her head up to look into his eyes. They were a dark midnight blue, which made her want to drown into them, "Just take one day at a time. There's no hurry. You went through an ordeal most people would not be able to survive".

If only her father could understand what Steve was telling her. If only she herself could believe it. "Thanks for saying that. I forget sometimes".

Steve smiled, "Anytime". He moved away and casually asked her, "So how come you're in Hawaii?"

"My father wanted to look into some business opportunities, and I thought I could get a vacation out of it".

"So how do you like it so far?"

"I haven't seen much of it. We have been staying at one of my father's friend's villas. But I would like to do the tourist thing one of these days" which was a complete lie. For one her father would not let her leave, and she herself did not have the confidence to explore an unknown place herself. After her last fiasco, she had never attempted it.

"How about I take you one of these days?"

"That would be lovely. But I wouldn't want to take your spare time away from you".

"It's no trouble" there was music floating in from the main ball room, "Would you like to dance?"

She hesitated again. She had not danced with a man in so long, but she knew she wanted to feel the way she had felt when he rescued her and carried her in his arms. Safe and secure. It had been so long since she had felt safe. "I would love to".

They danced for a long while. The music was mostly Jazz and Frank Sinatra classics. It was very romantic and Naomi was surprised that Steve could dance as well as he did. He wasn't great and one couldn't call him a dancer, but he was graceful and there was no awkward stepping on toes.

He held her close, but not too close; they fit each other quite nicely and she liked the feeling of his body close to her. It was a surprise for her since she was always wary of anybody getting too close. But with Steve she was only aware of how good she felt.

Just then a couple waltzed passed them. The man was an attractive blonde man who was an inch or two shorter than his lovely Asian companion. She was surprised when they moved toward them. "Hello there boss" said the woman as she smiled at Steve and her.

"Hey, you having fun?" Steve asked as he laughed slightly, his chest vibrating against her.

"Danny is a great dancer" she laughed as she looked at her dance partner, "If a little awkward".

The blonde man looked slightly pissed off, "Oh come on. I was being a gentleman when I offered you a dance. No one else was".

"Okay children calm down" Steve turned Naomi toward them as they moved off the dance floor, "Naomi I would like you to meet my partner Detective Danny Williams and Officer Kono Kalakaua".

"Nice to meet you both" she shook their hands.

"A pleasure" Danny said.

They all talked for a while as the ball went on around them. Naomi was grateful that after such a long time she felt normal. It was the first time in four years that she actually believed things would get better.

_**Hi everyone. I hope this chapter was good. Just in case some are wondering what Naomi would look like in her dress, I have added a link in my profile so just have a look.**_

_**Please review!**_


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

Danny watched as Steve entered the office. He looked a little distracted as he checked his phone and walked toward the main room.

"Good Morning Steven" he wished him.

Steve looked up and frowned, "Hey. What's the agenda for today?"

"Oh I'm having a great morning too, Steven" Danny got up from where he was sitting and moved toward his partner. "We gotta head down to Ehukai Beach. Kono's surfing mentor just got shot".

"Is she there? Is she alright?" Steve immediately was on attention, concern marring his stern face.

"Yeah she's fine. She's the one who called me a minute ago. It is probably a sniper shot. He was shot while he was in the surf".

"Okay let's head down there. Chin already there?"

"Yeah".

As usual it was McGarrett who drove his car. Seriously one of these days he was going to get back control. But first he needed to question his partner about the lovely lady he was dancing with last night. He couldn't help it, he was just a sucker for gossip.

"So Steven, who was the gorgeous lady you were dancing with last night at the Governor's Ball?" he asked and couldn't hide his smile.

He was treated to another glare from Steve, "And why do you want to know?"

"No reason. I just liked that you remotely resembled a normal man last night and not some freaky ninja dude".

Steve smiled slightly as he shook his head, "She's someone I met a long time ago" was all he said.

Danny motioned with his hand to elaborate, "And?"

Again Steve looked at him, "And, nothing".

"Oh come on!"

"Why do you want to know so bad? Don't you know curiosity killed the cat?"

"Yeah but satisfaction brought it back. And I am not gonna be satisfied till I know what it was. It isn't like it could have been anything classified". Steve gave him a look that said don't push it. "So it _was_ classified" Danny mused to himself.

"It's nothing Danny. I met her a few years back. And then we met again last night".

"Fine keep your secrets Steven. Keep your secrets". Danny was just dying of curiosity about the lovely Naomi Morales. There was a certain vulnerability about her and he had watched as Steve had responded to that; making him look completely different to how he was used to seeing him.

But his partner was a stubborn man.

-X-

God! Danny was like a dog with a bone. He would just not let it go. He hadn't worked with him long enough, but he had noticed the man was inquisitive to the point of annoying. It was probably why he was such a good detective.

He could have just told Danny about Naomi and how they had met, but he didn't like the idea of anyone knowing the hell she had been through. He knew he was being un-objective, but he couldn't help it. It wouldn't have hurt to tell him, since the mission had been over for a long time, but he was just not in the habit of talking about his past missions unless it was related to a case.

He thought back to last night. He had danced with Naomi most of the night. In fact they had spent most of the evening together, either talking or just staying on the balcony if they were not dancing. She was hesitant at first, but she had slowly relaxed, especially when they had danced and he had held her in his arms. He sensed she was not as comfortable with bodily contact, so he kept it to a minimum. He also noticed that she had not had a drop of alcohol. All signs that she was still suffering from her time when she had been kidnapped.

He had heard that she had not been raped, but who knew what had really happened. But he knew that whatever she had been through had impacted on her life in a big way. She had talked to him throughout the evening, but it was impersonal social chitchat, something that was probably learnt at some finishing school. She was very proper and polite, but he could not get a real sense of her as a person; a true personality from her.

It was not something that should bother him. After all he was only being friendly. She would leave in a few weeks time and he would probably never see her again. But every time that thought raced through his head, an image of her huddled against the wall shivering in the cold night, and then a clear picture of the fear in her eyes would enter his mind.

It was those eyes. He had never thought he was a romantic, poetic sort of guy. He was always straightforward. But from the moment he had seen her, those green eyes of hers had refused to leave his mind. It was as if in the short time he had held her in his arms and talked to her in Paris during her rescue, she had made an impact on his life. And he could say this with absolute certainty, because he had never once forgotten her.

He had gone on with his life, worked on many missions, some far more dangerous than her rescue, but he would always come back to the night he had carried her out of that hell hole.

Last night he had told her that he would take her sightseeing and she had politely tried to brush him off. He got the feeling she was used to dodging guys asking her out, although he was still not sure whether he had been asking her out on a date. Maybe if the situation had been different, if they had been meeting for the first time last night and he knew nothing about what she had been through, he would have asked her out. But he only wanted to show her around because he sensed that if he didn't, then she would never leave the villa she was staying at.

Why her wellbeing should concern him still gave him something to think about.

-X-

Naomi cracked open one eye and saw the time in the bedside clock was ten thirty A.M. She rolled over and groaned. She had slept so late last night and it was all Lt. Commander Steven J. McGarrett's fault. Why could she not get rid of him from her thoughts? It was pathetic the way she felt as if she hero-worshipped him. She never reacted to a man the way she reacted to him, and she had even been engaged once.

She groaned again remembering that fiasco. Jason had been a great guy; he was funny, adventurous, polite and considerate, but she hated leading him on for as long as she had. When she had asked him if they could wait to sleep together till after the wedding, he had looked disappointed but had agreed. He knew about her kidnapping, although he hardly mentioned it.

Somehow she just could not get herself to think about sex, even with her fiancé. So, much to her father's disappointment, she had broken up with him. She had been honest with him, telling him that in the state that she was she would not make a good wife. How could she, when even the thought of sleeping with her husband to be brought out the cold sweats?

An image of Steve flashed in her head accompanied by a small voice, "You wouldn't mind sleeping with him though".

"Oh shut up" she sat up in bed. It was a ridiculous thought. Yes he was HOT! And even if she did want to go out with him, sleep with him, it was something that she just did not have the courage to do.

She had not been raped all those years ago, but the violation of them seeing her without her clothes, the horrible touching had left her scarred for life. She realistically knew that she had nothing to be ashamed of, but she just could not help feeling that way. And no amount of therapy had helped her. And she had seen some of the best therapists, all of them making her feel like a freak. Maybe she was a freak.

Her phone buzzed on silent on the bedside table, she looked at the screen it was her father, "Hello father".

"Good morning darling, how are you doing this morning?"

"Great. Where are you?"

"I just finished a meeting. How would you like me to meet me for lunch? Say around one?"

"Sure, why not? I'll see you at one".

"Alright darling I'll send the car".

She finished her shower and went to stand in front of her closet. Knowing her father, lunch would be at a fine dining restaurant and she would be expected to dress appropriately. So she pulled out a pair loose cream linen trousers to be worn with a short sleeved white t – shirt. She dried her hair, tied it into a casual ponytail and didn't fuss with any make up except for lip-gloss. Her father always preferred her to dress up and be the perfect doll, but she always dressed down knowing she would not pass his approval.

She jammed her feet into her favourite tan leather wedges and picked up her big tan leather tote. She made sure she had on her beaten silver cuffs on her wrists. They were not only jewelry, but also hid the scars she had gotten from the rope and handcuffs. She quickly added her silver hoop earrings and her Rayban Aviator sunglasses and left the house.

The driver took her to the Hawaii Hilton, where she met her father in the lobby. Next to her father stood a tall man; very distinguished probably mid thirties and handsome, but in a perfect, almost creepy kind of way.

"Hello darling" her father came forward and kissed her cheek, "I'd like you to meet James Remington, a business associate of mine".

"Nice to meet you Mr. Remington" she shook his offered hand.

He smiled at her, "It's lovely to meet you. Your father has been telling me about you".

She remained quiet and just smiled politely. Why would her father call her for lunch with another man present when he knew how uncomfortable that would make her?

"Let's have some lunch, shall we?" her father led the way to one of the restaurants.

After they were seated, the conversation was mostly between her father and James Remington, while Naomi watched. Something was not right. James was constantly watching her even while conversing with her father. The way he looked at her gave her the shivers, and not in a good way.

"So Naomi, your father tells me you are quite the conservationist. You are very active with the environmental and animal charities" James tried to make conversation with her.

"Yes I am" was all she said. She had never had a problem with social conversation, but it was something about James Remington that just did not sit well with her.

Lunch went by rather slowly and Naomi was glad for it to be over. She waited in the car for her father who was finishing his chat with James Remington. As soon as he got into the car next to her he grunted.

"Why the hell couldn't you be more civil to the man?" he asked her.

"I was civil. I was talking throughout lunch" she tried her best to ignore his anger.

He grunted again, "I didn't pay for all those finishing schools for you to not use your training".

"My training? What exactly was I supposed to be training for, father?"

"You are to be the perfect wife and mother to a man who will be a somebody. I tolerated your break up with Jason. But I want you to be presentable the next time you are with James. He is a very important man".

"Jason and I broke up mutually. I cannot believe you would push me toward a man after what I have been through" she had never said this to him, but now she could not keep quiet.

"I saw the reports and spoke to your doctor. You were not raped and therapy should have been enough for you to get over your experience. I have reached the point where I do not know what to do with you" he sighed, "Why don't you start seeing that therapist again. She is one of the best in the country and she specializes in trauma such as you have faced".

She stayed quiet, after all she knew how her father hated to hear of explanations behind any weakness she may display. "I do not feel comfortable with men and even therapy has not helped me".

"I saw you get plenty comfortable with that SEAL fellow you were dancing with. I will not tolerate you wasting your time with a man who will be nothing".

"He happens to be the same man who rescued me" she defended Steve. She hated having her father belittle a man who was a much better example of one compared to all the other so called men she had ever known.

"If you have any feelings for this man it is only hero-worshiping. Nothing more and I will not tolerate anything more".

"I don't have any feelings for him, I just feel comfortable around him", she had a niggling doubt that she did have feelings for Steve. After all why else would she have remembered him after all these years.

As they got home, her phone rang and it showed up as Steve's number. Speak of the devil! "Hello?"

"Hi Naomi, its Steven McGarrett".

"How are you?"

"I'm doing great. How are you?"

"I'm fine" she didn't elaborate and there was an awkward silence.

"You remember I offered to take you sightseeing?"

"Yes you did and you don't have to take time out. I'm sure you're really busy" she felt obliged to make sure he was not going out of his way out of politeness. She would like nothing more than to spend some time with him, getting to know him better.

"Hey, its no trouble. How would you like coming for a Hawaiian beach party? Well its only a party at my house, which has a small beach", he almost sounded nervous, thought Naomi with a smile.

Without hesitating she replied, "I would love that. Just tell me when and where and I'll be there".

"It's this Saturday and I can pick you up. You don't need to drive or take a cab".

"Alright. Thanks again for inviting me Steve".

He said goodbye and hung up the phone. Naomi couldn't help but smile. It was not a date since it was a party with a lot of people. Her brain stopped.

Damnit! There would be strangers everywhere, and she was not good with strangers. She took a deep breath. She would take this opportunity to start her new life.

A life without fear and anxiety. A life where she would be able to hope for a normal life ahead of her.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

Naomi looked at herself in the mirror. It was a beach party so she wore her white halter dress, which had buttons that ran down all the way to the bottom and had a collar, the dress came to just below her knees and had a cream sash around the waist. She pulled her hair into a casual ponytail with minimal make-up and a light pink lip-gloss. She looked nice, but she was nervous about whether she was overdressed or not. In her world a beach party would mean everyone dressed in designer wear pretending to be casual.

She put on her staple silver hoops and instead of wearing both her bracelets she wore only one and opted for a tan leather watch instead. She heard a knock on her door, it was the housekeeper.

"Miss, it is a Mr. Steve here to pick you up".

"I'll be there in a minute" she yelled back. She quickly moved away from the mirror and shoved her feet into her favourite tan leather and cork Christian Louboutin wedges, which would give her some height. She picked up her bag and slung it across herself.

She walked down the stairs and into the hall where he was standing. He looked sexy and rumpled, so different from the night of the Governors ball. He wore a blue cotton shirt half tucked into classic blue jeans and a tan leather belt and on his feat she was surprised to see black converse sneakers. That little detail made her smile, it made him look more boyish and less of the scary SEAL who had rescued her.

"Hi" she smiled at him.

"Hi, you look nice" he came toward her and kissed her on her cheek.

"Thanks, you look nice too" they walked toward the door, where she stopped. "Did I need to get something. I'm sorry its been a while since I have been to a party, I'm afraid I've become a bit socially challenged".

Steve only laughed, "Don't worry about it. There is enough food and rink to feed an army". He led her to a big dark blue truck and helped her get in, which was pretty much to lift her into it. They drove to a suburb, which again surprised her since she thought he was more of a city apartment kind of guy. The area he lived in was a leafy tree lined street and when they pulled into his house, it was absolutely lovely. It was like a bungalow with greenery everywhere.

"I love your place" she enthused without realizing.

"Thanks, it belonged to my parents and my sister and I grew up here" he parked they got out of the truck and he held the opened the door open for her to enter.

The inside was nice and cozy and homely, very unlike the houses, which she had lived in. This was a home not merely a house.

"No one's here as yet, so do you want me to help with something?" she asked. Just then a pretty blonde woman walked in dressed in cut off shorts and a black halter-top. She hesitated a little when she saw them and then broke into a crooked smile. Then she came towards them and extended her hand to Naomi.

"Hi you must be Naomi. I'm Mary, the sister" she looked at her brother and winked at him.

"Hi nice to meet you" she felt silly talking so formally, "So do you need any help?"

"Sure if you want to help me cut up some fruit for those who want to be healthy. The rest are mostly a beer and chips crowd" Naomi followed Mary into the kitchen, which was warm and rather cute. The window was a nice surprise since it looked over a deck and further onto a private beach.

"The view is amazing! You guys were lucky to have grown up in a place like this" she said as she helped take out some chips into a large bowl.

"Yeah it was great" she said not sounding too happy, "So where did you grow up? You're not from Hawaii" she pointed out the obvious.

"I'm afraid not as serene as this place. I grew up mostly in D.C".

"Yeah Steve was telling me your dad is a senator?"

"Yes he is along with a very busy business man".

The doorbell rang and loud voices and sounds of laughter came through, "here's everyone" Mary exclaimed and went to greet them. Naomi followed.

There was a whole group of men, six of them to be exact, and all of them had their wives or girlfriends with them. They were embracing Steve as if they had not seen him for a long time. Then they treated Mary to the same hugs.

"Hey everyone meet Naomi Morales" Steve broke away from the group and came toward her, taking her hand in his. "Naomi this is my SEAL team that helped in your rescue".

"Oh my goodness. It's great to meet you all" she swallowed some of her emotions; "Thank you for everything that you all did for me".

"Hey it's nothing" one of the guys who had introduced himself as just 'Spoon'.

Everyone moved to the beach and Naomi and some of the other women went into the kitchen to help with more food that needed to go on the tables set outside.

One of the women, a lovely tall Hawaiian named Tracy, went to the window and opened it, stuck her head out and yelled, "Boys come and get the food out or go hungry".

"Nice work Trace" Mary said with a laugh.

"Why the hell should we be stuck in the kitchen while they enjoy themselves like bloody sultans" Naomi could only laugh at how the women talked about their men.

Just then the men filed into the room and obediently carried all the bowls and plates out to the patio.

The door opened and in walked Danny Williams, Kono and Chin Ho Kelly. She remembered them all from the ball and smiled as Kono came toward her and hugged her in greeting.

"Hi nice to see you here. Boss did say you would be coming", she looked great in her shorts and white strappy top with a bikini top sticking out.

"Yeah he invited me the other day. I think he felt sorry for me since I don't know anyone".

Danny came, "I don't think that's the reason he invited you".

"What do you mean?" she asked. But before he could answer her, the front door opened and in walked a huge Hawaiian man, bald and a huge grin on his face, carrying two buckets of fried chicken.

"Aloha my friends" he announced as he walked in.

Steve had come in from the back and smiled, "Naomi this is Kamekona, another friend".

"Hey there pretty lady" he came to shake her hand then stopped, "I have chicken grease so I'll just say hi".

Naomi smiled back at him, "No problem".

The party moved to the beach where someone had started a bonfire and music was playing from a sound system hooked on the patio. People were drinking and having a great time.

She had been talked to a group of the ladies when Steve came from behind, "Can I steel you away for a dance?" he asked her.

"Sure thing, let me just put my glass down" he took her glass from her and shoved it toward Danny.

"Hold this will you?" he said without looking at him.

Naomi giggled as he pulled her toward the water, "I think you should take your shoes off first" before she could take them off, he bent down and lifted her foot. He took them off for her and then she noticed he was barefoot as well, when he put her shoes next to his in a whole pile of them.

He dragged her forward and some of the other couples joined in, Danny, Chin and Kono danced as well. The music was great, the people were great and Naomi was having the time of her life. She couldn't have asked for a better night.

-X-

Steve danced with Naomi and watched as she laughed at one of Spoon and his fiancé's antics. She was visibly relaxed tonight, compared to the night at the Governors ball and he could only wonder at the reason. It was probably just because everyone around was friendly and hospitable. Although he had no idea what her friends were like and what her social circle was like, but he could imagine the kind of crowd she usually hung out with.

"Having fun?" he asked her as he pulled her closer.

"Yes I am. Thank you for inviting me" she said as the song changed to something slower, 'With or Without You' by U2. Steve pulled her closer and Naomi didn't hesitate the way she had initially at the ball. She turned her face up to look at him, after she had taken off her sky high heels she barely reached his shoulder, "Can I ask you something Steve?"

"Please do" she smelled amazing, a mixture of flowers and something else he had no idea of.

"I was talking with Danny earlier and I mentioned that you invited me because you thought I was lonely, and Danny said that was not the reason" she paused taking a breath, "Why did you invite me Steve?"

Steve looked at her and smiled, expect a woman to ask something like that, especially someone who came across as naïve as Naomi. "Well he may be right". When he saw the puzzled look on her face he laughed, twirled her around and brought her closer to his body, "I invited you because I like you".

She smiled, "You like me?"

"Yeah. And I hope you like me too".

She became serious, "I like you too but there is no point". She looked away from him toward the ocean and he glimpsed sadness in her eyes.

"I like you, you like me, why is there no point?" he asked but he didn't get an answer, so he continued, "Is it because of logistics? I live here and you live in Virginia".

"Actually that's not a problem. I have been thinking of moving for a while and I really like Hawaii" her voice trailed away.

"Then what's the problem?" he felt like he was interrogating someone.

"Steve, when you rescued me from the kidnappers, I was lucky because I was a handful of girls who weren't raped. Apparently because of our virgin status we were to be sold into the European white slavery ring" she again paused and took a fortifying breath. He did the same and gripped her waist tighter. "When I returned I found it really hard to adjust but somehow I managed to meet someone, a great guy and we even got engaged, mostly due to our parents urging"

Steve stopped dancing and walked them toward the beach, away from the others, even though they would not have been heard. "What happened? Are you still engaged to him?" he asked and he hoped she wasn't.

She shook her head, "No, we broke up. And the reason we broke up was because I could not bring myself to be with him" she paused and he could make out she had gone red, but she continued. "I just couldn't bring myself to be intimate with him".

Steve felt himself getting angry, "So the jerk broke up with you instead of helping you".

"No, no! You see I was the one who broke up with him. He was very sweet and understanding, we were engaged for almost a year and I knew that he could not wait for me forever".

"So you think this is going to be a problem for us" now Steve understood that her problems were much deeper than he would have initially guessed.

"Of course it will be a problem. I cannot be with anyone, unless and until I get better. But I have already been to so many therapists and none of them have helped".

She had stopped and she looked at him, her expression full of misery, "So now you know that even though we both like each other, its pointless".

Steve looked upward and felt himself melting at her expression. He green eyes had haunted him for years and they would haunt him for a long, long time to come. He had never pursued a woman, mostly because he had never needed to. He had never felt an emotional bond with another woman before, and even though he hardly knew Naomi, he could feel some kind of bond between them. And he knew she felt it as well.

"Naomi, I know we hardly know each other. We have met a total of four times, twice in circumstances neither one of us would like to remember".

"I will never forget the day you rescued me, or the time you came to visit me in the hospital" she put her hand on his chest, and he was aware that it was the first time she had touched him of her own accord.

"I will always remember your eyes. And I know this is crazy but I like you more than any other woman" he cupped her face in his hands, "I know you're scared, but I want to see how we go. We don't have to call this anything, we can just be friends. But I still want you in my life and I want to be in yours".

Her hand clasped his wrist and she looked slightly relieved, "I would like that very much Steve. Because I like you more than any other man I have known. And in the four years since you rescued me, I have never forgotten you".

Steve couldn't help but smile back at her, she was so sweet, "Can I kiss you?"

She blushed, "I thought we were just going to be friends" she told him even though she smiled a little cheekily.

"Well I know of friends who kiss occasionally. But only if you want to" he caressed her soft cheek.

"Well then how can I argue with that? Maybe we can kiss occasionally" she laughed slightly and she sounded lighthearted.

Steve lowered his head and lightly brushed his mouth against hers. He held his lips there and slowly gave her little pecks on the lips, which she returned after only a slight hesitation. He dragged his mouth to her jaw, then her cheek and then to her forehead where he set his lips. She had put her arms around his waist and stood close to him.

"Do you want to go back to the party and dance some more?" he asked as he gathered her close and put his arm around her shoulders, while she continued to keep her arm around his waist.

She looked up at him with a smile playing on her pretty lips, "Yes please. And I am starving as well".

"Now how can I deny a lady a dance and sustenance?"

They walked toward the party still in each other's arms, and even though they received many surprised glances, Steve did not loosen his hold on her and neither did she give any indication that she was uncomfortable. That gave Steve some hope that their fledgling relationship, whatever that was to be was not doomed from the start.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

It had been four blissful weeks in Hawaii and her time there was coming to an end. In that time she had spent the last three weeks mostly with Steve, his sister Mary and Danny. Mary would usually call after she finished work and they would meet somewhere for lunch and then they would be joined by the boys later. Sometimes they just spent the day, especially the weekends when Steve and Danny were not working, at Steve's beach.

It was always fun when Grace, Danny's cute daughter came over, they always had fun swimming in the sea and Kono was trying to teach her how to surf. Unfortunately she was not that great and she could not get her balance on the boards and every time she fell off, everyone on the beach would laugh.

For the first time after her kidnapping, or even before that, Naomi was feeling like she belonged. Before she had gone to Paris for her fateful vacation, she had a lot of friends but they were not close friends, who goofed around and made one feel comfortable in their midst. And although she had only known Steve, Mary, Danny and Kono for a few weeks, she felt like she had found genuine friends in them. Friends who actually cared for her and enjoyed her company.

Since she had been in Hawaii, she had even started thinking about going back to school. She had completed her first year of pre-med before her kidnapping and she wanted to continue. She had always wanted to become a doctor, but after the kidnapping she had lost the courage to face all those people at college who knew about the 'incident'.

At that very moment she was standing in Steve's kitchen getting a pitcher of iced tea out of the fridge, when Steve walked in from the beach dressed only in his board shorts. Naomi went pink when he smiled at her. He was so handsome and when he was all wet with his hair sticking in all directions after his swim, he looked even yummier.

"Ahh, tea. Just what we need" he came over and pulled out some glasses and followed her back to the beach where the rest of the group sat.

This time it was Danny trying to learn how to surf, even though he hated the water. Steve laughed as he watched Danny sputter in the water.

"Can you imagine that man does not like the beach?"

"He is an odd one. But he compensates for his oddness by being the funniest guy I know" Naomi laughed as she watched their antics.

Grace came running over, "Hey can I have a glass please?" she asked politely.

"Yes you may" Naomi poured some into a glass that Steve held out to her, "Here you go honey".

She thanked them and walked off. "She's a great kid. I've never been comfortable around kids but I guess I never spent much time around them" Steve said as they walked to the group.

"From what I can tell, you do quite nicely".

"Thanks. You mentioned earlier that you were leaving soon".

"Yes, I leave on Monday, although I don't want to" she looked longingly around. "I'm really going to miss this place".

Steve stopped before they were in earshot of the others, "Is that all you would miss?"

She smiled and played dumb, "What else is there for me to miss?".

Steve laughed and jokingly bumped into her, "Cheeky".

They joined the rest of the group and spent the day relaxing. They ended the night with a bonfire and Steve had dragged out his guitar, which he played, though not very well. He was obviously out of practice.

Steve insisted on driving her back to the villa, although it was not as late. For some reason, he always made sure she was home by a decent hour, as if she was back in high school.

When they reached the enormous villa, he stopped the truck "What time is your flight on Monday?"

"Eleven thirty in the morning".

He nodded his head, "Alright. I'll be there to say bye, just text me the gate you're supposed to be at".

"Steve you don't have to, you'll be busy with work" she looked at him, but because of the dark she couldn't make out his expression.

He reached for her hand, "How can I let you leave without saying goodbye. I would have liked to do something tomorrow but I have to go into work".

She smiled at that, "Okay. I'll text you the gate" she hesitated, not knowing what to do, "I have had the best three weeks in a long time with you all. I don't know how to thank you for it".

"You can thank me by keeping in touch. You have my number and whenever you feel like you want to talk just call me or Mary or any of us" he turned her face toward him and brought her closer to him. He kissed her lightly on her lips at first. Then he added pressure and parted her lips with his tongue.

They had kissed quite a few times, but they had always been chaste, friendly kisses on the lips or the cheeks. But this kiss was very different. Naomi felt his tongue and after a slight hesitation, she parted her lips and allowed him in.

Steve kissed her sweetly and sensually, but he was never aggressive, which was very comforting. Just as she was getting more involved in the kiss, the light of the front porch came on. Steve broke away, both of them breathing hard, the only sound in the truck, "I feel like I'm back in high school" he laughed slightly as he pushed her hair behind her ears and caressed her cheek.

She laughed with him, "I think I should head inside" she was able to see his face now and could make out his wide grin, "Goodnight Steve, thanks for the lovely day".

They got out of the truck and walked to the front door, "You're welcome. I'll speak to you tomorrow" he kissed her once more on the lips and cheek, "Goodnight Naomi". He waited for her to get into the house and then drove away.

As she walked into the foyer, she knew she had a silly smile on her face. But then she saw her father and that smile faded.

"What the hell was he doing kissing you like that?" he asked her sounding angrier than she had ever seen him, especially at her.

"He likes me and I like him. We kissed" she explained.

"And I take it that you have been spending all your time with him. Instead of going out to meet James as I had asked you to".

"Yes. I don't know why you are so angry at me, I never lied to you".

He huffed, "You were very clever. You only said you were sightseeing and never told me who you were meeting".

"You make it sound so seedy" she was pissed now.

"You can tolerate being with that guy, who is a nobody, but you cannot make time for James, who is one of the most influential men in the business world. Not to mention one of the richest".

She was fuming now. She had never known her father to be so nasty, "Everything is not about money. And 'that guy' has a name. Steve, and I happen to like him. A LOT! And he is NOT a nobody".

"Well at least we will be leaving on Monday" he walked back into the den and slammed the door shut.

She was so angry she couldn't think straight. All she knew was that she had to get out from under her father's thumb, or she would never be able to regain control of her life.

-X-

Steve made it to the airport with half an hour to spare before boarding would start. As he reached the gate he spotted Naomi and her father; they were sitting a few seats apart and not talking, it looked a little strained.

As he approached he admired her; as always she looked beautiful dressed in casual tight blue jeans, a striped blue and white t – shirt and a black fitted blazer with rolled up sleaves. For once he noticed she was not in heels but in red flats. He was always amazed that she managed to look sophisticated yet sexy even dressed in a bathing suit, it was just in her make up.

He watched her as she lifted her head and spotted him, her face broke out into a smile. She got up and started walking toward him, but he also noticed the displeasure on her father's face. He decided to ignore it.

"You came" she said as he reached for her and hugged her close.

"I couldn't not come" he pulled away, keeping her close and looked at her face. "Your father does not look too happy".

She sighed, "Yes, he has a problem with me socialising with you" she looked a little guilty.

Steve decided to laugh it off, "He wants you to be seen with a reputable rich businessman, rather than a lowly soldier".

She immediately looked at him and frowned, "Yes he does and no you are not a lowly soldier. In fact he even has a rich businessman lined up for me".

He was pleased at her offended response on his behalf, but he was slightly jealous, irrationally of a guy who could potentially be a rival. "So who's the lucky guy? Have you inspected all his teeth?" he asked and he was unable to sound as non-chalant as he would have liked to sound.

"His name is James Remington".

"Does he have a roman numeral attached to the end of his name?"

She giggled, "No but he could have one if he wanted to. He's a real pompous ass".

The shared a look and laughed. "Your dad's coming over" Steve pointed out as he put her further from him.

"Commander McGarrett, nice to see you" Morales shook his hand and smiled, although it was not a genuine one. "I know you have grown close to my daughter, but you didn't have to come all the way to say goodbye. You must be busy".

Steve just smiled, he would not give the old man the satisfaction of making him uncomfortable, "Actually it was no trouble. It's been great catching up with Naomi over the last few weeks".

Morales looked at him haughtily, "Now that we're leaving I'd like to thank you for showing Naomi a good time".

"My pleasure" he then looked at her, "Want to have a quick coffee?"

She looked at her watch, "Sure, we have time".

They were seated at the café, which was not as busy, "I am thinking of applying for college here" Naomi said as she looked a little uncertain.

"That's great. I never knew you hadn't finished college".

"I had finished the first year of pre-med before the kidnapping. But I didn't continue when I got back".

"Pre-med. Wow! You're smart" Steve joked and got a smile from her.

"Very funny" she pulled a face at him. "Anyway, I was thinking I'll send out my applications as soon as I get back home and hopefully I'll be able to start just after the summer".

"Naomi that's really great. You should try University of Hawaii, its got a great pre-med programme and it's close to all of us, so you will know someone when you start out".

He watched as she played with the silver bracelet she always wore, "I think that sounds like a plan". Just then her father came toward them.

"I think it's time to start boarding" Steve mentioned and got out of his seat. He walked with Naomi behind Morales and they got into the Business Class line.

Just before their turn Naomi turned to him, "Steve, thanks for everything and I'll hopefully see you soon".

"Keep in touch and let me know about your plans" they hugged and when she went to pull away, he stopped her.

"Can I kiss you?" he asked her, aware that they were being watched.

"You have to ask?" she smiled and reached up to put her lips to his. It was the first time she had initiated a kiss between them.

It started as just a chaste kiss, but it turned into something much more. He cupped her face as he felt her arms go around his waist as they held onto each other. He slipped his tongue between her lips, being bold but it paid off. She welcomed him shyly but she settled more into the kiss and she sighed.

When Steve pulled away he saw an older woman smile at them, which made Naomi blush bright pink, "Oh God!" she groaned and hid her face in his chest.

Steve pulled her face up and kissed her lightly on her lips, "Bye Naomi" he said against her mouth.

"Bye Steve" they pulled away and again Steve noticed Morales glaring daggers at him. Steve just smiled and waved at him, watching the old man get angrier.

"I think we just made your dad mad. You okay with that?" he asked, now wondering if their blatant display would effect her in some way.

She shrugged and smiled, "Hey, it feels good to be a bit rebellious. It's very liberating". She reached up and kissed him on the cheek quickly, "Okay now I really have to go. Say hi to Mary and the others for me. I'll be in touch".

"Bye. Have a safe flight" Steve watched as Naomi turned and went through the gate. She turned and waved at him, then disappeared.

Steve only smiled as he turned back to head outside. A strange excitement was coming over him at the prospect of Naomi coming back to Hawaii.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

_**August – four months later**_

Naomi was trying her best to calm herself down. Today was the start of the rest of her life – a life that she intended to lead without fear, as an independent strong woman focused on her career.

Her flight was about to land in Honolulu and she reflected back on the last four months. Her time at home with her father had been strained; he did not approve of her coming all the way to Hawaii to finish college rather than going to a more prestigious school like Stanford or Columbia. He was unable to understand her reasons for coming here.

He was convinced that it was because of Steve, which was not far from the truth. But that was not the only reason. Her reason for coming here was that she had felt peace on this beautiful island for the first time since her ordeal. She felt hope and a cleansing, along with real friendships that she had maintained despite the distance.

In the last four months, she had regularly spoken with Mary and Steve, even Danny and Kono. They would call her and from time to time just to chat and she cherished those times. But most of all she enjoyed Steve's calls; they were not overly long and were usually just her talking and blabbering. He really was a very serious man; but the fact that it was usually him who called her made her feel like she was liked even if Steve was not very chatty.

The captain announced their descent and they were instructed to buckle their seatbelts. Naomi felt the excitement in her; Steve was coming to pick her up since it was a Saturday and he insisted. She had tried not to impose too much on him, but he had refused, although she did win her argument when he insisted that she would stay with him. She had informed him that she had an apartment organized along with a couple of other students.

She again thought back to her father, he had threatened to cut her off, and she had very politely told him that she had used her trust fund left by her maternal grandfather to pay for her college tuition and that she intended to support herself that way until she could get a part time job. She was going to lead the life of a student and the only way she could gain her independence was to make sure she did not let her father control her finances. Her father had nothing to do with her trust fund therefore she had finally showed him she did not need him. Naomi felt bad at the way they had parted, but she was sure he would come around once he saw how well she was doing.

She made her way to baggage claim when she spotted him. He was as handsome and sexy as she remembered, maybe even more than before. He looked amazing in just a plain white cotton shirt with his sleeves rolled up, blue jeans and converse sneakers. She noticed even more grey in his hair as if he had been under a lot of stress lately. He wore his ever-present diving watch and a frown as he scrolled through his phone.

As if sensing her gaze on him, he lifted his head, his gaze zoned in on her and his frown turned into a toothy grin. He almost jogged coming closer and without any warning, he lifted her into a tight bear hug. Her arms automatically went around his neck to balance herself, and they both laughed. God, she had missed him, although he did not laugh much.

One he set her aside, he took a good look at her, and "You look good. Its good to have you back".

"You don't look so bad yourself" she smiled up at him.

"Okay what does your luggage look like?" he asked as he dragged a trolley toward the conveyer belt. When she spotted her stuff she pointed it out and together they loaded up the trolley.

"So how did your dad take it?" Steve asked as he pushed her trolley into the car park. She knew exactly what he meant.

She sighed sadly, "Not very well. He actually threatened to cut me off, before I reminded him about my trust fund set up by my grandfather" they had gotten into the truck and were headed toward the exit. "But I am going to be positive. When he sees that I am doing well, and that I am independent, hopefully he'll come around".

Steve reached for her hand, "For your sake I hope he does" she noticed he didn't sound too convinced but she decided to let it be.

They chatted as they drove, everything from Danny and Grace and the fact that Danny was still struggling to fit in.

"I seriously do not understand how Danny can not like this place?" she laughed.

"He is a strange man".

Steve drove them to Manoa, where she had managed to get an apartment with another girl.

"Do you know your roommate?" he asked as they parked outside a colorful three storied building.

"No, I found this place through Gumtree and I spoke to the girl on the phone and we've been doing the whole skype thing. She seems pretty alright" Naomi was too busy helping Steve get her stuff out of the back of the truck so she missed the expression on his face.

"You should have told me who she was and I would have done a back ground check on her".

She laughed and looked at him, noticing his frown, "Oh come on Steve. The last thing I need is for you to act like my father" she realized she was being unfair on him so she softened, "But thanks for the offer. I promise if I notice anything strange, you will be the first thing to know".

He looked at her and his frown was firmly in place, "You better".

"Aye, Aye Captain" she mock saluted him.

"Very funny, kid. And I'm not a captain".

Just as they were nearing the steps leading into the building a tall, willowy blonde woman, who looked like a model came into view. She was wearing exercise gear and even though she looked sweaty, she looked great. Naomi recognized her as her new roommate Kat and also noticed the appreciative look Steve gave her. Naomi did not want to think of her new roommate as someone whose eyes she wanted to scratch out!

-X-

Steve observed Naomi glaring at Kat, her new roommate as they were carrying her stuff up the stairs. The apartment was on the third floor and he noticed Naomi was getting a little out of breath.

Kat on the other was like an electric chatterbox hooked into a high voltage socket; she was high energy, talked more than he had ever heard anyone talk in a ten-minute timeframe, not even Danny. And she was annoying as hell.

Being a fully functioning red-blooded male he could not ignore the fact that she was hot, but she was very annoying. And when he noticed Naomi glaring daggers at her, he smiled to himself. At least now he knew for sure that she had feelings for him.

"Oh this is nice, just like the pictures you emailed me" Naomi said as she looked around the small but cheerful room that was both a living room and an open plan kitchen and dining area.

"I'm glad you like it. You can do whatever you want to do with the room, add any pictures or posters you want or any home decor things you want to make this place feel your own" Kat said helpfully, "Come and see your bedroom".

She led them to a bedroom with French doors leading to a small balcony that looked onto the main street. "There's no furniture in the room. Where are you going to sleep?" Steve observed. It was a large and airy room with the walls painted a pristine white.

"I can sleep on the couch tonight and get some stuff later. There is no hurry" Naomi said as she walked around the room. She opened the balcony doors and walked out, "Oh look at this stuff here" she exclaimed as he followed her.

Steve looked at the rusted old outdoor chairs and table. At some time they have been nice, even pretty but it looked like junk now, "Seriously? This stuff?"

Naomi smiled indulgently at him, "Yes, this stuff. All it needs is a coat of white paint and voila!"

"You should probably come back to my place before you get some furniture. I have a spare room, and Mary is still staying with me" Steve felt silly, but for some reason he wanted her to be comfortable and he did not like the thought of leaving her here.

"There is a lovely furniture store close by if you want to get some stuff" Kat volunteered as she watched them. Steve noticed her lingering glances and was a little uncomfortable under her scrutiny.

Steve asked Naomi, "You want to check it out? Maybe we can pick up some stuff for you".

"Alright. But only of you're free. You've already done so much".

"Hey don't worry about it" Steve caught her hand in his and led her to the front door, "Let's get to the store and pick out some furniture".

As he'd expected, Naomi went for some of the most feminine furniture. What he had not expected was to see her so excited about second hand furniture. Because of the way she was always dressed, Mary had even pointed out that all her clothes belonged to some high-end designer or the other, he had imagined her to be used to the finer things in life. She certainly was used to the finer things in life, but she was not spoilt.

She picked out a queen sized light mint green wrought iron bed frame and mattress to go with it. She also picked out what she called side tables that would go with the bed, but in his view they didn't, they were white and wooden.

They organized for the stuff to be delivered that evening, and then left the store. Naomi had a big smile on her face, "That was the most fun I have ever had shopping".

That was surprising, "I thought furniture shopping was considered boring".

"Oh Steven, for a girl any shopping is always fun".

Steve felt silly but he had to admit, he did have fun shopping for girly furniture with her, only because he saw a different side to her. When she had been here before for her vacation, she had seemed very unsure of herself, uncomfortable with him and very shy.

She was still shy but she was more comfortable with him. When he touched her she no longer stiffened and did not hesitate to reciprocate any affection. She had hugged him at the airport as if she had missed him as much as he had missed her, which felt great.

Steve had never thought himself to be a boyfriend kind of guy, but with Naomi he could see himself as being in a steady relationship. Earlier his life had been unsettled, he never knew when he would be shipped off and whether he would return or not, and that uncertainty had kept him from forming lasting relationships with women in particular. But now, he was in a different place.

It was not that he was in any hurry to marry, although he had nothing against it. Naomi was still young, she had to finish college and he had the feeling that if he demanded too much off her he would be pushing her away.

He knew he would not be comfortable with a woman who was overly clingy and too demanding, after al he was used to his freedom. But he knew for one thing that Naomi would not be that way, and even if she did need any attention from him, it would be because she genuinely needed it. She had experienced something in life that he had no personal experience with. And for the first time in his life, he wanted to be there for a woman in whatever capacity she needed him in; whether be it lover or even just a friend.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

It had been three weeks since Naomi had been at college and so far it had been extremely hectic and tiring, but satisfying. She had not realized how unhappy she had been when she had been living with her father. And now that she had gained her independence she knew she would never be able to give it up for anything; it was too precious to her.

Naomi had even started to feel slightly more comfortable around strangers; although she did still have her bad days, after all it was something she could not control. But she had contacted the college counselor and had already had four appointments with her.

Dr. Juliet Travers was a slight, gray haired woman in her fifties who looked like she was still living in the hippie years. She always had a cigarette in her hand, although she rarely smoked it, and was always chewing gum. She had a multitude of rings on her fingers and joked that most of them were from her ex-lovers. All in all she was a very interesting character who seemed to actually care about Naomi and her problems.

This was the first time that Naomi felt she could talk to her therapist properly, and luckily Dr. Travers, who also had a private practice, had already signed her up as a patient.

Naomi hadn't seen Steve all that much in the last three weeks but she had become quite close to Mary. The two of them met almost every second day, Mary loved coming to the college campus to check out the cute guys. Naomi laughed as she remembered Mary's reaction when she had come to meet her for lunch.

She had taken one look at a group of guys sitting next to them, one of them was a fellow pre-med student and had stopped for a quick chat.

"Humana humana! Maybe I should go to college" Mary said eyeing his butt as he walked back to his table.

"Mary quit staring! I have to see him everyday" Naomi blushed as she noticed the boys look back at them and Mary waved at them flirtatiously.

Mary laughed, "Lucky you, sweetie. Too bad you're not going to do anything about it".

Naomi almost choked on the iced tea she was sipping on, "What do you mean?"

"C'mon. I know how you look at my brother" she smirked, "And boy have I seen the way he looks at you".

Naomi knew her cheeks were burning, "Well nothing is serious. We're just friends".

"Yeah right. Friends who kiss constantly" Mary pointed out and when Naomi looked shocked, "Yes we have all seen you guys sneaking off from time to time". Mary reached for her hand, "You know there is nothing wrong with how you feel about him".

"I know, but I am just worried that I won't be able to have a proper relationship with him. He isn't a boy who will be satisfied with just kissing and over the clothes touching" Naomi sighed, "Maybe I should just stop with all this. I feel like I'm leading him on".

"Sweetie, as you just pointed out Steve is a man, and he is not the type that can be lead on by a woman" Mary laughed and then shuddered, "Eww, thinking of my brother and sex in the same sentence is grossing me out".

They laughed and let the subject go, but Naomi was worried. She really liked Steve and she knew she was falling for him, hard. If she was not careful she was in serious risk of losing her heart and breaking hers and Steve's

-X-

Steve walked into his house and noticed the smell of something cooking, although he was not sure whether that was a good thing or bad. With Mary around, it was unpredictable.

"Mary!" he called as he walked into the kitchen. He stopped in his tracks when he noticed the woman sitting at the table sipping a glass of wine, while Mary stood at the counter, vengefully chopping a carrot.

"Oh Steve. You're home" she looked up at him and abandoned the chopping. She came toward him, glowering angrily at him, "You jerk. I thought better of you" and walked off.

Steve knew what she was talking about as he looked at the woman sitting at the table, it was Catherine. She looked great as always, but somehow instead of feeling the usual happiness he only felt guilt.

"Hey there Sailor" she greeted him as she came closer. Before he could stop her she put her arms around his neck and kissed him. He was still too stunned to react so he just stood there. "Hmm, I missed you. Although I got the feeling your sister was not too happy to see me" she laughed lightly.

Then her laughter turned to a frown, "And I'm not too sure you're very happy to see me either".

He managed to shake himself out of his stupor, "Oh God no. Of course I'm happy to see you" he pulled her into a hug and he noticed the confusion in her eyes when he did not kiss her like a lover.

With a puzzled expression still on her face she moved away, "So are we going to have a nice dinner this time or…" she smiled slightly and Steve knew exactly what she was talking about. When they were together, they rarely ever managed to get out of a bedroom. But that had to change now.

Steve felt extremely guilty, "Look, Cat I need to talk to you. Do you want to come down to the beach?" he knew he sounded very shrill, but he avoided her gaze and pulled out a beer from the fridge.

When they reached the beach, they settled on the loungers lying on the sand. Catherine stayed quiet, but one glance at her face, he could tell she was wondering what was going on.

"What's going on Steve?" she asked as she sipped her wine.

Steve looked at her and he felt bad for the fact that he could have forgotten about their relationship so easily. They had never talked about being exclusive, but he had never really gone out with anyone other than Catherine for the last five years, since they had met. He had never had the time and had never been in one place long enough to form a relationship.

"Steve will you just come out and tell me. You're killing with the suspense" she laughed.

He took a deep breath, "I have no other way of saying this, Catherine, I met someone" he looked up at her.

Her pretty face went through a lot of expressions, but for once Steve was unable to read them. "Well, how serious is it?" she asked and he knew she was asking whether he had already slept with someone else.

"At this point we're only friends; we've never slept together. But…" he trailed off.

"But you want to. And you've thought about it" she stood up from the seat and walked toward the water.

Steve followed her, "Catherine, its more complicated than me wanting to sleep with her. In fact, I haven't even thought that far".

"She must be special".

"I met her four years ago, on a mission" he told her.

"So she's in the Navy as well. Do I know her?" she asked.

"No. She was the mission" he sighed, "Look I rescued her with my SEAL team. But I met her again this year at the Governors Ball. And as soon as we met it was like we had this… bond" Steve hoped he didn't sound too chick flick.

Catherine looked at him, for a moment she looked angry, but then her expression settled into one of sadness. "I know we never said this was exclusive. We both just got really comfortable with what we had".

"And I would never change anything" he sipped his beer and laughed, "We did have some good times".

She laughed with him, "Maybe now we can finally have that dinner we keep forgetting".

"Yes we definitely can".

They talked for a while then, decided to head to a nice restaurant for that promised dinner. Throughout the meal they reminisced about their time together and Steve was glad that they would end things on a good note, without any bitterness.

"Well Lt. Commander McGarrett, I do hope that you will be happy with your lucky lady" She smiled at him and reached for his hand.

"I hope so too, although I know it's going to be some work getting her to trust me".

Catherine laughed at that, "Why Commander McGarrett, you're having lady trouble. Maybe I can help".

Steve looked at her; he had always talked to her about things, but somehow talking to her about Naomi did not feel right. When he remained quiet Catherine only nodded her head, "She really is special" she said quietly.

They talked some more and finished their meals. When it was time to head home, Steve insisted he drop Catherine off, but she refused. They stood outside waiting for a cab.

"Are you sure you don't want me to drop you off?" he asked her again.

"Yes Steve. You can head home when I get a cab".

Soon enough they got a cab, "Bye Steve. And I honestly hope you will be happy with Naomi".

They hugged and then out of habit they kissed. It was a kiss of farewell and friendship, noting more.

"I'm going to miss you Steve. Take care" she kissed him once more, got in the cab and left.

Steve stood for a while at the curb and watched the lights fade away, people passed him by on the sidewalk and he stood still. Catherine had been part of his life, rather on and off, but he had become comfortable with her, exactly what she had pointed out.

Now Naomi came along, and she had issues that his skills could not resolve. He was not sure if he could be the man that she needed him to be. He had never thought of anyone other than himself and his close family; he had never had to. But if he were going to make a relationship with Naomi work, then he would have to be strong and be faithful.

-X-

Naomi wanted to cry. And she had never cried over a guy before in her life. She excused herself from the group and went into the ladies; that's when the tears came.

She knew she would not be able to hold onto someone like Steve, especially with all her problems. She had told him about her problems and she had believed him when he said that they would work things out. He had obviously changed his mind. She knew it was too much to hope that a guy would stick around and wait for her.

It wasn't the fact that he could not wait that upset her; it was more the fact that he lied about wanting to be with her. She didn't think Steve was that kind of a guy. Maybe Jason had also been with other women; after all they were red-blooded young men in their prime and it was unfair for her to expect them to be faithful to her when she could not promise anything.

But those thoughts were not of a rational thinking woman. She knew she deserved respect and if a man made a promise to her she had every right to expect him to keep true to it. Therefore she had no reason to feel ashamed and guilty for anything. Now she was just angry and hurt.

She made a decision; she would go out there, have a lovely dinner with her friends and forget about seeing Steve kissing that woman, even if she had to have a creepy smile on her face the entire evening.

She had no idea how she went through dinner. She was aware of one of the guys, Andrew flirting with her, but unfortunately her mind was not in it. All she could think about was Steve. God damn that man! She was so mad at him!

She wasn't sure whether she should ignore Steve or to act as if nothing had changed. She wished to God she had some idea of what to do with a man like him. Although she knew she could avoid him for a while, she was extremely busy with her classes and she started her new job soon as well. It wouldn't be a lie when she told him she could not meet often, and then maybe this attraction would fizzle out. There were other guys out there, and maybe it would be better if she went out with someone less intimidating.

An image of Steve and his smile flashed through her mind and she knew it was not going to be easy to ignore him. Especially when she was half way crazy about the guy!


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

_**Thank you everyone for the reviews, I really appreciate them.**_

Steve scratched his head wondering for probably the hundredth time, in as many days, what was going on with Naomi? She had been acting strange for the last couple of weeks. He understood she was busy, she had classes constantly and she was working part time as a waitress as well, so it wasn't like she did have too much spare time.

Maybe he just needed to get used to the fact that she had other priorities in her life other than him. He tried to make himself not feel as offended as he was feeling, but he enjoyed having a place in her life that was exclusive. She knew how he felt about her, even though they had decided to remain friends for now.

He walked into his house and spotted Mary chatting on the phone animatedly. As soon as she saw him, she quickly wrapped up the call and disconnected.

"Hey bro. How was work?"

"Paperwork today, nothing that interesting" he walked toward the sink and poured himself a glass of water. "Have you heard from Naomi?" he asked trying to sound casual.

"I was just speaking to her when you walked in".

"Didn't you tell her I came in? I wanted to talk to her, she's been so busy that she hasn't answered any of my messages".

Mary had a guilty look on her face, "Actually, she's kind of been avoiding you on purpose".

"Why the hell would she do that?"

"Because she saw you with Catherine. Apparently you two looked quite cosy" she looked at him with a frown.

Steve groaned as he sat down hard in a dining chair, "Oh man! I took Catherine to dinner as a farewell. I told her all about Naomi and how I felt about her" he sighed, "Did she see her kiss me?"

Mary flinched, "Yup".

"Fucking hell!" he got up and ran his hands through his hair, "Call her and tell her I'm coming over and that we need to talk".

Again Mary flinched, "Actually she has a date".

Steve stopped in his tracks, "A date? Who with?"

"Some guy her father introduced her to, James something".

"James Remington" Steve snorted. "I thought she didn't like him".

"Well he called her the other day, just after she had seen you with Catherine. I guess she was feeling a little raw, so she agreed to go have dinner with him" Mary looked at her brother sympathetically; "It's only dinner Steve".

"Yeah whatever" Steve left the kitchen and walked into his bedroom. He changed into his running shorts and shoes. He needed to blow off some steam.

As he ran, he kept getting madder at Naomi. Why couldn't she have come to him and talked about what she had seen? Women always jumped to conclusions and it seemed Naomi was not an exception, no matter how much he had wanted her to be.

The thing that was pissing him off even more was his own reaction to the news about her date. He had never been jealous of a woman before in his life. He obviously would have to have a talk with her about it.

He reached home after an hour's run on the beach and went to Mary's room. She opened her door after he knocked, "Can you call her and tell her to come here on the weekend. Tell her it's a party or something, and it's yours. Otherwise she won't come".

"You're behaving like a cop now".

"Maybe that's the only way she'll agree to listen to me".

He went for a shower and hoped for some peace of mind where it came to Naomi.

-X-

Naomi looked at herself in the mirror and pulled a face. She knew she looked good, but somehow the satisfaction of dressing up and looking nice was missing. Maybe it had something to do with how miserable she was.

A couple of days ago Mary had called and told her she was having a beach party. So she had agreed to come and for some reason she had also invited James to come with her.

She had gone out for dinner with him, and surprisingly he was not as bad as she had initially thought him to be. He was dressed differently, in casual jeans and cotton shirt, rather than a suit; he had been charming and polite, and quite funny. Every time she realised she was having a good time, she felt guilty. Then an image of Steve kissing that woman flashed through her mind and she would feel better.

At the end of the night, he had very respectfully dropped her to her door and given her a chaste kiss on the cheek before wishing her goodnight.

Tonight she wore a blue dress, which was strappy and formfitting on top with a floaty skirt, which swirled around her knees as she walked. She wore her white leather sandals and pulled her hair away from her face and clipped it leaving the rest loose; by default her hair had crinkled and it looked rumpled and beach ready. She didn't bother with make up, only wore her silver hoops, silver cuff on one wrist and her watch on the other. Now she was ready, she looked good, she was coming with another man, and she felt confident.

She mentally chastised herself for behaving so childishly, but she couldn't help it. She would have to face Steve and if the chance came to talk to him, she would have to if she didn't want to create a scene.

"Naomi, James is here" Kat yelled from the doorway.

"Coming".

She walked out and saw him standing at the door, looking casual again in jeans and a black Polo t – shirt, expensive watch in place along with Italian leather loafers. He was a far cry from Steve and all of sudden she remembered how cute he had looked when he came to pick her up. She felt a pang in her chest; she missed him so much.

"Hi. You look lovely" he kissed her on the cheek.

"Hi" she felt strange when he kissed her, and not in a good way like Steve. Luckily, he never tried more than that.

"I fed the address you gave me in the GPS so hopefully we wont get lost" he laughed as he led her to his fancy sports car.

"I'm sure we'll be fine" she wasn't in the mood to talk now and she hoped he would turn up the music.

The drive was boring with minimal of chatter between them, and she had a feeling James was picking up on her sullen mood. They reached Steve's house and there were quite a few cars lining the street so they had to walk to the house after parking further away.

When the bell was rung, Danny was the one to answer the door. "Hey there stranger" he came to her and enveloped her into a bear hug, and Naomi felt the affection from him. "Where have you been?"

"Oh just busy with college and work".

"You better not forget about us. I know we're not all as smart as you are Miss. Almost a Doctor".

She laughed, "Of course not. I missed you guys" she turned to James when she noticed Danny looking at him suspiciously, "Danny this is James Remington. James this is my friend Detective Danny Williams".

"Hey I'm off duty right now" he raised his beer bottle but ignored the hand that James had stuck out, "Nice to meet you". But Naomi felt that it was not a genuine one. She knew what he was thinking; how could she move from Steve to this guy? "Come on in. The party's moved to the beach".

They went out and there were quite a lot of people. Naomi recognised some faces, Steve's SEAL buddies and their partners. She chatted with all of them, introduced them to James. She also noticed how out of place he seemed.

As she was talking to Mary who had met her enthusiastically, hugging her, Steve came up to them. She pulled away from Mary and looked into his blue eyes, which were a little distant. "Hi Steve" she said as she tried her best to not embarrass herself by jumping into his arms, clinging to him like a monkey.

And he looked great, in spite of the distant eyes. He wore a grey t – shirt and jeans, his feet bare. He looked completely at ease in his environment, so different from James.

"Hey. Long time no see" he dismissed her as he looked at James, "You must be James. Heard a lot about you" Steve shook hands with him and grinned widely, "Hope she doesn't drop you as fast as she dropped me" he said this as he looked at Naomi then walked off.

She got mad now, enough of being polite pretending that nothing had happened. So she stalked after him, pulling him to a stop when she caught hold of the back of his shirt.

"I did not drop you, you're the one who was kissing another woman" she said louder than she had meant to, the people standing near by stopped talking and looked toward them.

"It was nothing. She was an old friend and I was breaking up with her" he explained then looked toward James, "Now I see I didn't need to. You had Daddy's hand picked boyfriend ready to treat you to the life you were used to".

"How dare you say that to me, when you know how I feel about you" she asked him hurt by his anger.

"All I know is that I'm the guy who rescued you. You felt safe with me, practiced all the kissing and making out in the world with me, then when you felt you could do it without help, dumped me for the first guy Daddy picked for you" he pointed to James. "I thought you wanted to be independent".

"I do want to be independent. And are you pissed because all I did was make out with you? You know what my problem is" by now people were being treated to a full-blown argument.

Steve snorted, "I was willing to wait as long as you wanted to. How the hell did I know you were hiding behind your problems just to run away from any real relationship in your life? That's probably the reason you broke off your engagement" he looked angrier than she had ever seen him, and she had seen him kill not one but two men.

She felt tears in her eyes, "You have no right to say that to me". She turned and walked to James.

She groaned and dropped her head into her hands, "What the hell was that all about?" asked James looking puzzled.

"Nothing, lets just have some fun" she took James' hand and walked toward the table that held the food and alcohol. She refused to slink away, advertising her embarrassment. She was determined to stay and enjoy herself even if it killed her.

The evening was turning into the crappiest she had ever had. No one was really talking to them including Danny, Kono was not there so another friendly face was missing. Mary was busy with her guests, whom she had not seen in a long time. The worst was Steve, he just stood broodingly on the beach and watched her with angry eyes.

At some point, dancing started and couples moved to the beach. James pulled her toward the crowd, "No James I don't want to" she protested.

"Come on, the least you can do is dance with me" he said as he pulled her close. She didn't feel as comfortable with him as she did with Steve; she just wasn't able to relax.

The song turned to a slow one and she looked around for Steve but he was nowhere to be found. James then pulled her closer, bent his head and started running his mouth over her ear, "You look so beautiful, I want to kiss you" he whispered.

She shivered from fear rather than arousal but that is what James took it as. Without further warning he lifted his head and slammed his lips onto hers. He held her head tight, winding his hands in her hair, hurting her.

At first she was in shock and stilled. He probably took that as encouragement, so he deepened the kiss. That was when fear slammed into her body. She started to struggle; she pushed against his chest, and turned her face around, "James stop. Please".

She had not realised that they had moved a little further from the crowd while dancing; he was so tall that her struggles were not visible to the others. Naomi started to panic and she bit his lip hard. The next thing she knew she was pushed away from him, "You fucking bitch" he yelled and slapped her.

She gasped as she stumbled from the blow and fell into a hard wall, which moved and she realised it was Steve. He steadied her, then moved to James. Without another word he laid his fist into his jaw, knocking him off his feet.

"Get the fuck out of my house" Steve didn't yell, but spoke very calmly which was worse.

James tried to defend himself, "The bitch drew blood" he said as he felt his swollen lip. Naomi felt quite happy when she saw that he was bleeding quite a bit down his chin.

"She should have cut your balls off" Steve reached for his collar and walked him to where Danny was.

"I'll take the trash out. It's the least I can do" Danny said as he escorted James.

Steve turned to her and without a word gathered her in his arms, holding her tight.

-X-

Steve had not wanted to be part of the crowd, so he had moved to the shadows near the water. That's where he had seen Naomi struggling with James. His heart had stopped at the sight, images of her lying bruised, chained to the wall flashed in his mind.

He smiled now as he remembered how she had bitten James, although she had gotten slapped. He didn't want to think what could have happened if no one had been around.

When he turned to her after handing the scumbag over to Danno, he saw some of James' blood on her soft lips. But he never said anything. All he could do was gather her close and hold her tight. He felt her arms creeping around his neck just as tightly as he lifted her and walked into the house, ignoring everyone else.

Mary and Danny came up to them, "Is she alright?" she asked.

Naomi lifted her head, "I'm fine you guys".

Steve didn't stop for them to chat. He walked straight into the downstairs bathroom and helped her wash off the blood. Neither spoke, but then Steve looked into the mirror, their image reflected. She looked perfect beside him. He also noticed a red handprint forming on her pale cheek where James had slapped her.

He wet a washcloth with cold water and set it against her face, "It'll probably bruise" he said as he bent his head and kissed her bruised cheek.

He watched her in the mirror; at first she was composed, then her face crumpled into tears, "I'm sorry" she cried, tears running down her face.

"Hey, hey sweetheart. You have nothing to be sorry for" he turned her around and cupped her face, "I'm sorry for everything I said to you in front of everyone".

"But you were right" she tearfully admitted.

Steve reached for the washcloth and wiped the tears from her face, "I think we need to admit that what we have is more than just friendship".

She looked up at him, "I know. I felt so jealous when I saw you kissing that woman outside the restaurant".

"That was Catherine. We had dated for a while on and off, and I had taken her out for dinner as a goodbye. And the kiss was nothing more than that" he rested his forehead against hers, "I told her I had met someone, and that I could not be with her anymore".

"The only reason I went out with James was because I was upset about you" she said as she snuggled closer to him.

"For the record, I was jealous as hell of you and that James. It's sorted then. We're not just friends anymore".

"No we're definitely not just friends" she agreed with him thankfully. And to his surprise she reached up and kissed him.

He wanted to kiss her, but after James, he wasn't sure if she would be okay with it. It was her who deepened the kiss, by slanting her mouth onto his and stroking his tongue with hers. They both groaned as she slid her fingers through his hair, she felt so good.

They broke apart, breathing hard, "Do you want to head home?" he asked her caressing her bruised cheek.

She just smiled, "No. I think we should go out and enjoy the party".

Steve couldn't help but laugh. The fact that she was okay with going out meant she was feeling better.

He took her hand and walked to the back door. Everyone had gone back to having fun. So when they walked onto the beach to join in the dancing, Steve didn't anticipate the reaction they would get. Everyone stopped, turned to him and Naomi, started cheering, hooting and whistling loudly.

He looked down at Naomi and she was smiling. He felt his chest tighten; it was going to be all right.

_**Hopefully that wasn't too bad. Please review!**_


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

_**Hello everyone. I would just like to thank everyone who has read and reviewed my story. Hope I don't disappoint with this.**_

It had been probably the best two months of Naomi's life. She was doing well at college, even though it was very stressful. She had managed to make a couple of good friends in her classes and she was glad that they were separate from Steve's circle.

Thinking of Steve she smiled as she walked to the library. He had been great, very understanding that she needed to be independent and that she needed to invest a large amount of time in her studies. However they did manage to spend a lot of time together. Either he would come over after work and they would eat dinner at her place or he would take her out. Either way they made sure they spent their evenings and weekends together. In fact if she needed to study she would go to his house and she would study on the beach while he surfed or lazed next to her.

Unfortunately, Mary had to leave and go back to L.A. It had been a terrible scare for Steve, when he had discovered that the same men who had broken into his house one night had kidnapped her. And the worst was that it was all somehow connected to his father. She could feel his tension and tried to do as much as she could to alleviate it by being there for him, listening to him if he needed to talk.

One thing that had become clear to Naomi after Steve's house had been broken into was that she was confident she was in love with him. The thought that he had been hurt, tasered, scared her more than she could have imagined. Steve was always the big strong hero, but in this instance his vulnerability was made more obvious. He was after all a man, he could get shot, and if not used correctly a taser could just as easily kill a man.

She missed Mary a lot, but they made sure they skyped or talked on the phone often enough. It was like losing a sister, and even though they had promised to meet again, it was going to be hard once they both settled into their lives to take time out.

At the moment, Naomi was preparing for an exam and for the life of her could not concentrate. All she could think about was the fact that she had come to a decision.

She was ready. Finally, after all this time, she had known Steve for a long time now and was sure she was in love with him. The next logical step would be to take their relationship to the next level.

Like the nerd that she was, she had read up on all the information she could get and skipped all the romance novel bullshit. It was a realistic expectation that her first time would not be as good as she and every other girl hoped it would be. And she had decided that this Saturday would be the night.

Steve had called her last night, since he had not been able to come over. She had been cramming for her exam in the 24/ 7 section of the library.

"Hey baby. How's the brain?" he joked with her.

"It hurts and I still have another two hours before I can allow myself to sleep" she sighed with exhaustion.

He sounded worried, "You push yourself too much".

"Look who's talking Mr. Pain-Is-My-Middle-Name Navy SEAL".

Steve laughed at that, remembering one of their recent jogs on the beach, "You were the one who said you wanted to get fitter".

"I said I wanted to get fit, not join a fucking bootcamp!"

"Well, sweetie you want to work out with me, you gotta do what I tell you to" he used his best SEAL voice. "That reminds me you have missed the last few morning sessions".

"That's because my muscles have staged a protest against you" she laughed and earned a nasty look from another student. "Okay you're disturbing me at two – thirty a.m, I'm getting dirty looks from others. Speak".

"Now who's being bossy?" he asked with a laugh.

"I learnt from the best. Okay now tell me why you called and why are you not sleeping at this hour?" she asked sounding a little concerned.

"I was working on the stuff that Mary left for me. Couldn't sleep".

She sighed, "Steve you need to rest. I worry that you're not looking after yourself".

"Don't worry about me babe, I'm fine" he dismissed her like he usually did when it came to talking about his health. "Okay the reason I called is that I have a surprise for you this Saturday".

"What is it?" she asked a little suspiciously.

"Nothing much, it's your birthday so I figured we go to a nice restaurant, I know you like Spanish. What do you think?"

Naomi smiled, "I think that sounds great. But we don't have to do anything fancy. Just you and me on your beach would be just as great" after all she had a surprise for him as well, but she wouldn't tell him.

"It would, but I want to wine and dine you. Besides we never do anything fancy" she heard him yawn.

"Okay, that's great and I'm looking forward to it. Now sleepyhead, go to bed".

He yawned again, "Alright, I'll see you tomorrow for dinner. Wanna go over to that Chinese place near your apartment?"

"Sure, I finish at four".

"If I finish before that I'll pick you up, if not I'll call you".

"Good night Steve. Sleep tight" she smiled as she spoke.

"Good night beautiful. And go to bed properly. When you get to your apartment just give me a call, I'll probably be up by then anyway".

Once she disconnected the call she couldn't help but smile. As she looked up more annoyed faces glared back at her, but she couldn't wipe the smile off her face.

-X-

Steve looked at himself in the mirror and had to admit he didn't look too bad. He had never been comfortable in a suit and avoided wearing one if he could get away with it. But tonight, he wanted to do something special for Naomi, although he refused to wear a tie. This was Hawaii, no one except Danny Williams wore one. So he had opted for an open necked black shirt to wear with his slim fitting black suit and fancy shoes that pinched his feet, since he hardly wore them.

They had been officially dating for the last two months and they had been some of the most fun times he had spent with her. She had opened up with him and he could see she was emerging from her cocoon slowly. She was more confident and was thriving in her independent environment. At times he worried that she would not be able to cope, or that she needed to be taken care of. But he understood that the reason she was doing so well was because she was independent and not being smothered by anyone. So all he could hope for was to be there for her whenever she needed him to be. She had her own life and she deserved everything she had worked to get it.

She was not spoiled. She went to college and studied hard, then she went to work at the local café on campus to earn a living like all the other struggling students. She loved the fact that she had to save now, as she had mentioned to him a few times. She had stopped shopping the way she used to and she had started to dress a little casually as well.

She still looked as beautiful and sophisticated as before, but she looked younger and more carefree in her summer dresses and shorts. She still dressed in her killer designer heels and sophisticated clothes but not as much as she used to. She was more relaxed now.

Tonight was her birthday, and Steve wanted to do something special for her. He had wanted to take her someplace fancy for their first date, but she had insisted they just went for a movie and dinner like others, stating very matter of factly that she had never done that. So Steve had obliged. But tonight he had thought he would surprise her.

He knew she liked Spanish music. Just remembering the night he had discovered that about her made him ache with want. They had been watching Vicki Christine Barcelona, one of Naomi's favourite movies. She had gone to the kitchen to get them some popcorn, and a sexy flamenco song was playing in the movie – she had danced to it the entire way to the kitchen and back. He had sat there gaping with his mouth open, watching her hips swaying to the music, hands twirling like he imagined a flamenco dancer would.

Since then he had noticed she loved listening to Spanish guitar, especially some guy called Paco De Lucia and Jesse Cook. And he always enjoyed watching her get lost in the music.

So when he learned that this Jesse Cook guy was doing a small show in Hawaii at some Spanish club, he had wrangled some passes for her birthday. He wanted to watch her dance and maybe dance with her.

Naomi was one of the sexiest women he had known. Without being conscious of that fact, she attracted him and looks from others as well.

The way she moved was sensual and graceful. Her gaze was sexy with the green eyes, and the best part was she effortlessly looked innocently seductive. It was a look that he had seen women, unsuccessfully try but they always fell flat on their faces.

He looked at his watch – it was time to pick her up. He checked his pocket for the tickets and his wallet – Danny never let him forget how he always managed to get out of paying for drinks because he never carried his wallet.

When he reached Naomi's apartment block, he walked up the steps to her door, checked his breath and rang the doorbell. Sure enough, Kat answered the door. For some reason he had never seen her in anything but gym clothes, showing too much skin.

"Oh my. You're looking hot tonight!" Kat had graduated from coy looks to outright comments about how 'hot' he was to his face, in front of Naomi – which made him laugh because she looked ready to scratch her roommate's eyes out.

"Thanks. Is Naomi ready?" he asked as he entered the small living area.

"Sure why don't you have a drink while you wait" she offered with a smile.

"That's fine, thanks".

Just then Naomi walked out looking different than he had expected, but sexy and effortlessly seductive as always. She had recently had a haircut and her long dark waves fell in sexy tousled disarray around her shoulders and down her back, he was glad she hadn't cut it too short. She was dressed like he had never seen her, not as polished as she usually looked.

She wore a cream colored off the shoulder top, which floated over her arms and showed off her pale shoulders; with a black frilly gypsy skirt and a red crystal beaded belt around her waist and hanging to one side of her hip in beaded tassels. Her make up was minimal, only her green eyes accentuated with smoky eye makeup and her pink lips coated in lip-gloss. When she walked he noticed the full effect of the skirt, it had a split in the side so when she walked it swished around her legs revealing her left leg to the thigh and her sexy red strappy heels.

Steve had to remind himself to breathe as she walked toward him with a smile on her lovely face.

"Hi there handsome" she reached him, went on tip toe and kissed him on the mouth.

Steve kissed her back, tasting her berry-flavored mouth. When he managed to pull away from her, he took a deep breath, "Happy Birthday baby. You look sexy as hell". He watched as she blushed and lowered her eyes.

"Thanks".

"Ready to go?" he asked.

She replied yes, ran into her room to collect a small red purse. How she could run in those heels amazed him.

Everything about her amazed him, and although he had seen her dressed up many times, he had never seen her look this sexy before.

-X-

Naomi was pleasantly surprised by Steve's reaction; he had been speechless, which told her that her bold choice of outfit had worked. She had chosen to wear something other than the polished designer dresses she used to wear, simply because she wanted to be sexy for a change. Sophistication did not come into the picture – she wanted to look HOT! And it looked like it worked.

And not to forget the way Steve looked. He could almost be mistaken for a model, except that he was too rugged to be one. The all black suited him, he looked utterly sexy and all she wanted to do was skip dinner and get on with her plan.

They drove to a lovely, stylish Spanish restaurant and were ushered to a table near the window that overlooked the ocean. The ambiance was romantic with softly lit candles and light strains of Spanish music playing non-intrusively.

"God Steve, this place is great" she admired her surroundings as they were seated.

"I'm glad you liked it. I'm afraid I have no idea what to order so you'll probably have to order for me" he smiled at her over the burning candle.

She reached for his hand, "Don't worry you're in good hands".

As she started to pull her hand away, Steve stopped her, trapping her fingers with hers and staring at her wrist. She had purposely not worn anything to hide the scars.

"You didn't wear your silver cuffs" he brought her wrist up to his mouth and kissed her lightly, then repeated the same with the other one.

She shrugged, "I don't have to hide from you. You have seen me at my worst".

She watched as he slipped his hand in his jacket pocket and pulled out a small box. For a moment Naomi caught her breath, it looked like an engagement ring box. But that was impossible, she told herself. It was too soon.

He pushed the box toward her, "Happy Birthday sweetheart".

"Steve you didn't have to" her hands shook as she opened the box. She gasped at what she saw.

She had been right, it was not an engagement ring, but rather lovely olive green crystal vintage earrings that she had been admiring once when they had walked down Kalakaua Avenue at a stylish vintage shop. She had no idea he had noticed.

"I saw you looking at them and I thought you liked them" he mumbled self-consciously.

"Oh Steve, they're lovely. I absolutely love them" she took them out and wore them in her empty ears.

"They don't match your dress" he pointed out.

"I don't care. I love them"

Dinner was great, Steve didn't know much about Spanish food so she ordered for them both. They talked about random things, her friends at college and she was pleased when Steve shared a little more about his parents, especially the fact that his father's evidence had been stolen from his house.

"You must miss Mary" she said as she sipped her wine.

"Yeah I do, but it's safer if she stays away. Whoever is after my family, does not need the chance to do any harm".

She comfortingly touched his hand, "Nothing will happen to your family. You sent Mary away for her safety".

He looked at her with a strange expression on his face, "Maybe you being here wasn't such a good idea. If who ever it is that is after me finds out about us, you could be in trouble as well".

"Steve, I have made my life here. I cannot run away from things. Besides I'm not family, they don't know the level of our relationship. We could just be on a date" she patted his hand, "Now lets not think about it. Lets go for a walk along the beach".

Steve smiled, "Actually, we have somewhere to be" he looked at his watch.

He refused to tell her where they were headed as he paid the check and exited the restaurant. They walked down the Avenue and reached a well-known Spanish club and the marquee read "Jesse Cook – One Night Only".

"Surprise" he said as they reached door and he pulled out two passes from his inside pocket.

"Oh my goodness. This is the best birthday I have ever had" she impulsively kissed his cheek as they headed inside.

-X-

Steve had not anticipated enjoying himself as much as he did. Dinner had been great; she had loved her gift as he had hoped. He had never really bought anything for a woman before.

When they had talked about Mary and that he had to send her away, he had started to worry about Naomi. She had started to become an important part of his life, and even though she brushed off his worries, he was still anxious. What if who ever was after him, came after Naomi. He tried to forget about that and enjoy himself.

The guy was good, he had to admit. He danced with Naomi most of the time like a lot of the crowd. The music was fun and enthusiastic one moment, and the next it was sexy and sensual. It was then that he would pull her close to his body and dance with her as he had never danced with anyone.

She was in her element, at the moment a slow sensuous song was playing, very romantic. She had her eyes closed and her head rested on his chest, one of her hands in his and the other around his neck.

He couldn't resist, so he bent his head and kissed her mouth. She instantly responded to him; her mouth opening under his, letting him in, her hand playing with the hair at the nape of his neck. They danced and kissed lazily the rest of the night, not noticing anyone else.

When the show ended, Steve wanted to take her home, but he knew the decision had to be hers. Throughout their time up till now, they had not had sex, and even though he always hoped, he was ready to wait till when she was ready.

As they headed toward the parked car, Naomi walked quietly beside him hand in hand. Her silence was more contemplative.

"What are you thinking?" he asked her.

She stopped walking; it was late at night so there weren't many people around. She looked up at him and smiled shyly, "I want to come home with you" she said quietly.

For a moment he just looked at her, "Are you saying what I think and hope you're saying?"

She nodded and came closer, "Yes Steve, I'm saying what you're hoping".

"Sweetheart, you have to be sure. There's no hurry, I'll wait for you to be ready" he caressed her cheek.

She stroked his hair and shifted her body against him, "I am sure Steve. I am ready; scared but ready".

All Steve could do was groan as he dropped his forehead to her shoulder, inhaling her perfume. "If at anytime you are not comfortable or you want to stop, I will".

"I know. That is why I want to do this. This is not a hasty decision, I have been thinking about this for a while".

He didn't say anything but just kissed her mouth. He cupped her cheeks and slanted his mouth over hers and automatically she opened up, letting him in.

Neither of them noticed passers by and neither did they realize when they got in the car and reached his house.

He held her hand as they entered the house. Instead of switching on the lights, he managed to find some of Mary's old candles and lit them, then opened a bottle of wine.

"Wanna go to the beach?" he asked her.

"Yes".

He shed his suit jacket and shoes, Naomi took of her shoes as well as he rolled up his pants and sleeves. Without glasses he just took the bottle and walked her to the beach.

He pulled her between his knees so she sat with her back to his chest as his arms went around her. Naomi snuggled her head on his shoulder as they sipped wine straight from the bottle, listened to the waves and kissed.

Steve didn't realize when his shirt had disappeared, and so had her top, all he knew was that he loved the sensation of her bare breasts against his chest.

"We should get inside. I don't want our first time to be on the beach. Especially without a blanket" he wiggled his eyebrows at her suggestively, making her laugh.

"Steve I have to tell you something" she said as she looked at him.

"Do you want to stop?"

"God, no way" she sighed and touched his chest as if she couldn't help herself, "It's just that this is going to be not just our first time but mine too".

Steve looked at her, her comment not registering in his head. Then he realized what she was saying, "Oh. So you never… with your fiancé…?"

She shook her head, "That was part of the problem. I didn't feel comfortable enough with him".

Steve looked into her face and all of a sudden he started to feel nervous, "You do realize that sex is very different from what the movies and romance novels show".

Naomi glared at him, "Steve, I am a pre-med student. I know what to expect, the first time is never great for a woman".

"Gees, way to make a guy feel good" he joked.

She smiled back, "I'm being realistic. If the first time isn't great, then the second time will be better, and then the next".

Steve just kissed her and gathered her close. Somehow they managed to get inside the house and into his room. Whatever happened now, Steve knew this was going to change their entire relationship.

-X-

Naomi cracked open one eye. Something was different; she was not in her bed and she was very warm. Then the warmth by her side shifted and a weight settled on her back. She turned her head and looked into the sleeping face of her handsome lover.

She had always thought him good looking, but when he slept he looked rather boyish. She smiled at the tousled hair and the moons of his lashes. She reached her hand and traced her finger down his forehead, over his nose and reached his lips. She didn't expect it when he caught her finger in his teeth.

"You're awake" she gasped, trying to burrow under the sheet.

He didn't reply, just grunted as he pulled her closer into his body. During the night he had thrown off the covers, but she managed to cover herself up as much as she could. For all her bravado last night, in broad daylight she felt self-conscious.

With his eyes still closed, Steve bent his head and settled his mouth on her throat, breathing in her scent. Then he suckled on her skin there, using his teeth and tongue. She realized he was giving her a hickey!

She didn't care. She closed her eyes and enjoyed it. Her body felt sore, muscles that she never knew existed, ached. But she felt good. She had been right, the sex itself had not been that great, it was painful and as much as Steve tried, she wasn't able to reach satisfaction.

But during the night he had woken again, and they had made love again. This time it had been better, her body had been more receptive, both to Steve and the pleasure he gave her.

"How are you feeling?" he asked her, finally opening his sleepy blue eyes.

"I feel great. How are you?" she snuggled closer and tucked her leg between his.

He looked at her and caressed her cheek, "I would feel better if I didn't hurt you as much as I did".

"It wasn't that bad" she tried to reassure him, even though it had been. There was nothing romantic and glamorous about first-time sex!

"Are you kidding? You cried!" he propped himself on his elbow and looked down at her.

Naomi touched his cheek and traced his lips, "It was just the first time. The second time was good".

He smiled at that, "Yeah it was" he bent and kissed her. It was a deep and intimate kiss, and it lead to the sheet being pulled from her.

-X-

Steve watched as Naomi came into the kitchen, dressed in nothing but one of his t-shirts, she had just come from the bath he had drawn for her. She had tried to entice him into joining her, but he knew if he got into the tub with her, she would be really sore.

She came over to where he was standing at the stove, cooking breakfast. She wrapped her arms around his naked waist and kissed his back.

"Need help?" she asked running her hand up his stomach.

"No, you just sit and relax. Today you get pampered".

She went to the fridge and took out some orange juice and glasses, "You know I have to thank you for last night".

He turned to watch her, "No you don't".

"You don't understand. I don't think I could have done it with anyone else" came her reply.

That was good, although he didn't say it out loud, "You don't know that".

She looked at him while pulling out plates, "I was engaged and I didn't want to make love with my fiancé. The minute he did more than kiss me, I would freeze up" she sat at the table, "For a while I thought I was frigid".

He brought the eggs over, deposited them on the plates then crouched down next in front of her. He ran his hands over her thighs and pulled her closer, fitting his body between her legs, "You had been through a trauma. Luckily you weren't raped, but what they did to you made it hard for you to trust a man sexually" he reached up and cupped her face in his big hands, "I'm glad you trusted me enough to make love with me".

He loved her this way, sleep tousled in the morning after spending the night in bed, making love. When he had woken up with her in his bed, she had still been wearing the earrings he gave her last night, looking sweet and sexy at the same time. He had no idea he could be this attracted to a woman. He never had been before.

-X-

He looked amazing, dressed in nothing but a pair of board shorts. He had already had a swim and showered while she had lazed in the bath. Her body had needed it, even more than when he usually made her do those sadistic exercise.

And now as he crouched in front of her, assuring her that she had nothing to worry about made her realize that she could never be without him in her life again.

Naomi knew that what she was about to say would either ruin everything or make it better, but she was not able to keep it in anymore. Last night had been hard enough.

"Steve, I love you".

He blinked, said nothing, pulled her closer and planted his mouth on hers and kissed her like he had never kissed her before.

_**All the links to Naomi's dress and earrings she gets from Steve are in my profile. Hope this was as good as the buildup was and thank you for all the reviews. Please Review!**_


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

_**Thanks to everyone who have reviewed and read my story.**_

There was something different about Steve this morning, thought Danny as they walked into the office having met outside. He looked – happy! He was smiling more instead of the usual frown on his face.

At one point Danny had even caught him looking at his phone with a sappy smile on his face, and when he had peered over Steve's shoulder to spy, he had immediately turned away pretending he hadn't seen what he had. It had been a picture of Naomi, looking rumpled and sexy even though it had been just of her covered in a sheet sitting on the bed, only her shoulders visible. Steve had caught his look and put his phone back, giving him a dirty look.

"Hey" said Steve as his cheeks colored.

Danny couldn't help himself and started to giggle. "What?" Steve asked again. That's when Danny burst into laughter.

"What the hell are you laughing like a hyena for?" Steve got up from the stool he had been sitting on.

"I'm laughing at how much of a non-ninja like sap you are at the moment. Its quite nice actually" Danny came over and sat with him as Chin walked in.

"Aloha brah" he greeted them both and picked up on what Danny was laughing at. "That picture looks like it's professional" he commented straight-faced.

Steve got up, "What picture?"

"The one that makes you look like a 'non-ninja like sap' brah" he grinned at Danny.

"I think I'm gonna have to start knocking at his door before barging in now" Danny said on a chuckle at the embarrassed expression on Steve's face. It was hard to imagine Steve being embarrassed; the last time he had gotten laid he had been cocky about it, not shy.

It was probably because Naomi was special. Danny had seen the way Steve had responded to her at the party; the chemistry between them was great. Over the last few months, he had gotten to know her, and even though she was shy she was friendly, and slowly had started to open up with rest of the group.

Steve's happiness was making him aware of his own loneliness. He basically lived for Gracey, but he was a man. He had no problem dating women on a casual basis, but he wanted something more permanent, although he was afraid to admit it to himself.

-X-

Steve's phone rang as he and Danny were driving to a crime scene, he looked at the screen and a picture of her that he had taken in the morning popped up on the screen. She looked sleepy and her hair was windblown from the walk on the beach, she wore no make up and she had a huge grin on her face.

"Hey baby" he said when he activated his phone.

"Hey, I hope I'm not disturbing?" she asked.

He caught Danny's smile, "No you're not, I'm just driving with Danny somewhere" he told her.

"Hi Danny. I haven't seen you in ages" she spoke a little louder making Steve smile.

"Hi sweetie. Between college and Steve you don't get to see normal people, I can understand why you miss me" he teased her and they heard Naomi chuckle.

"Actually I was thinking of having a dinner at home. My roommate is away for the whole month so I have the house to myself".

"Sounds good just let me know when".

"I will and you'll have to bring Grace as well" she said.

"Will do sweetie" Danny smiled and Steve took over the conversation.

"You alright babe? Need anything?" he asked wondering if she called for anything specific. Usually it was him that called her during the day.

"I'm fine. Just wanted to let you know that I'm finishing late tonight. I picked up an extra shift, so I may not be able to see you".

"Do you want me to pick you up?" even though he never said it, he didn't like her working the late shift at the café/ bar she worked at.

"I'll be fine, I'll get a lift with Shayla who lives down the road from me" she told him. "Alright my class is starting so I have to go. I love you".

"I'll see you tomorrow. Bye babe" Steve disconnected.

"Ah! The 'L' word" Danny mumbled.

Steve looked at him, "What'd you say?"

"Nothing. Just wondered why you didn't say the 'L' word back?" Danny looked at him from the corner of his eye.

Steve remained quiet. He actually didn't have the answer to that because he wasn't sure if he was in love with Naomi. Yes he liked her a lot, he felt protective towards her, and he enjoyed spending time with her more than he had with any other woman, even Catherine.

And he couldn't forget the feeling he always got when he thought about the time he had first seen her, when his team had rescued her. He knew that if anything were to happen to her he would find it hard to deal with. That may be love but he had no idea; he had never said it and no one apart from his family had said that to him.

"She knows how I feel, I don't have to shout it out" he defended himself, and he knew that it was a stupid excuse.

"Babe, you have no idea about women if that is what you think. She may not say it but she expects it" Danny chuckled under his breath.

Steve thought about it, "She has never said anything though".

"And she won't. But she will be thinking about it. And every time she says it she expects you to respond".

Steve maneuvered the car into a car park, "And if you're wrong about this?"

"You are free to do whatever you like" Danny seemed to think about it a minute, "Except shoot me or cause me bodily harm".

Steve laughed at that, "You know for all the Jersey toughness you project, you are dead scared of getting hurt".

"Oh no my ninja friend. I am not scared of anything" he made a show of pulling up his sleeves, "You haven't seen me go all Jersey on your ass before".

"Do I really want to? Would it be as scary as those housewife women on TV?" Steve and Naomi had become addicted to that show.

"You have no idea" he puffed his chest out.

Steve laughed at his partner's antics, "Whatever I believe you".

Danny seemed to take offence to this, "You think I'm kidding, Steven?"

"No I'm sure you're serious" Steve tried to keep a straight face.

"You damn straight I am. But having both of us high strung would probably not be such a good idea. One of us has to be the voice of reason with you trying to throw people off building rooftops" Danny finished.

They both got out of the car, "That was one time!"

Danny snorted, "And the grenade on the door? What was that? A firecracker?"

"No one got hurt. And besides it made the guy talk".

Danny didn't say anything further, just looked at him and shook his head.

"What?" Steve said as he followed his partner.

-X-

Naomi looked around her dinner table and smiled. She had bought the new dining table only a few days ago from the antique furniture store and it was beautifully crafted from old floorboards, which were at least three inches thick. And around the table sat her friends – Kono, Chin, Danny and his daughter Grace, and some of her friends from college, Shayla and Adam who also worked with her. And most importantly, her handsome boyfriend Steve.

She had to sometimes pinch herself; feeling like it was a dream. She had never imagined that Steve would ever be more than her rescuer and her friend, even though she had hoped for it. If she was totally honest with herself, she had fallen in love with Steve the moment she had laid eyes on him when he had rescued her from that hellhole. She understood that they could not spend as much time with each other, especially with her busy schedule and his crazy work hours, but they did spend as much time as they could. And those times were her favourite.

She loved spending the weekends that she didn't work at his place, or even when he came to her place after work, tired and they would enjoy a meal together then go to bed.

Oh and what went on in that bed. She had never thought that even before her kidnapping she would enjoy sex that much. Steve was very patient and so considerate that she could not imagine her fiancé being that way. He always made sure she was comfortable with whatever he did. And whatever he did was magic. The nights they spent together, she did not want to get up the next morning because she was always exhausted.

She was brought out of her haze as she was surrounded by laughter at something Danny said.

"So Kono when do we meet this new guy?" asked Danny.

She rolled her eyes at him, "I think I'm going to keep him away for a while. I don't want to scare him away"

"Oh come on we're not that bad" Steve said beside her as he sat relaxed with his arm draped on the back of her chair.

Kono only snorted, "Not that bad? The last date I brought to your party only received glares and growls from you all that he never called me again!" she complained, "And he was cute besides he was a surfer".

"He had funny eyes" Chin said quietly.

"There was nothing wrong with his eyes" Kono defended.

Danny pointed out, "Except that they wandered all over the place to women who were not you".

"Really?" She looked shocked.

Naomi had to jump in now, "Kono don't listen to them. He had eyes only for you".

"Well not anymore. Last I heard he had met some swim wear model just after me" she frowned a little, then smiled broadly, "But who cares. This new guy I'm not even telling you his name so you cant check him out" she pointedly looked at Steve and Chin.

Both of them said at the same time, "What?"

"Oh please. Like I don't know what you do every time I talk about a guy one of you does a background check" Kono reached for the wine bottle. "Oh and by the way Naomi, Steve did a background check on James".

Naomi turned to him, his face had a hard expression on his face, "And this is after I asked you not to".

"I did it after that night he slapped you" he defended himself.

"So why did you not tell me? Was it part of an investigation?" for some reason the fact that Steve had gone behind her back pissed her off.

"No it was not part of an investigation, but something about the guy didn't add up". Steve turned to Kono, "Thanks for starting this".

"Anytime" she sipped her wine.

It was Danny who came to everyone's rescue, "Okay kids. Time to get back home" he turned to his daughter who was busy playing Angry Birds, "I have to drop you at your moms tonight, so we should get going".

Everyone left, while Shayla stayed back to help her clean up.

"So that is the handsome Steve you always talk about" Shayla bent to put some stuff in the dishwasher. "He's yummy" she grinned.

Shayla had slowly become a good friend although Naomi hadn't told her about her past. She was very helpful at work and had sort of taken Naomi under her wing to teach her the ropes. It didn't hurt that she was also the weekend manager.

"So how did you guys meet?" she asked.

Naomi hesitated, "Actually we met when he rescued me".

"Rescued you?"

Naomi decided to come clean, "Yes. A few years back I was kidnapped and Steve's SEAL team was sent out to rescue me. Then at the start of this year I met him again and we became close".

"Wow. To fall in love with a real knight in shining armor" she sighed.

"I cant complain" Naomi smiled broadly.

Just then the object of her affections walked in, "Hey there girls. Need help?"

Shayla turned and said, "All done".

"Do you need a lift back home?" he asked politely.

"Thanks but I just live down the road. After the way I stuffed myself I need a walk" Shayla hugged and kissed Naomi goodnight and then said bye to Steve. As she walked to the door she turned to Naomi and winked at her. Naomi blushed because she knew what she meant.

"Alone at last" Steve groaned as he reached for her and pulled her into his arms. He buried his face on her neck and breathed in deeply tickling her. "If you cook like that all the time, I'll never be able to run after bad guys".

She hugged him close nuzzling his ear, "I have a confession to make". He raised his head and looked at her, "I didn't cook. I ordered in".

Steve only smiled, "Your ordering is amazing. You can do no wrong".

She smiled at his silliness, "You're great too. Although I hope I can become one of those women who can cook for her man" she reached up and kissed him. It soon turned into a heated and passionate kiss as he lifted her against his chest. When he freed her mouth she sighed, "I Love You".

All of a sudden Steve's expression tensed as he put her down.

"What's wrong?" she asked worriedly.

Steve walked to the balcony and she followed him. He stood with his hands planted on the railing; she went behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Steve what's wrong?" she asked again.

He turned around within her arms, and then disengaged himself from her. He had never done that before.

"Look Naomi, I think we're moving too fast" he said as he sat down on the comfortable couch.

"What do you mean we're moving too fast?" she asked feeling really dumb.

"Don't you think its too soon to fall in love?"

Naomi felt numb. She had no experience outside of her disastrous engagement of how to deal with a relationship. She had never thought she was doing anything wrong.

"Steve I don't know. I have never done this before. I just told you how I feel" she sat opposite him on one of the stuffed chairs and folded her hands in her lap.

He remained quiet and that only made Naomi more nervous.

"I had no idea that there was a time frame within which one would be required to express their feelings" she said unable to remain silent.

Steve looked at her, "Look I just feel uncomfortable when you say it. I don't know how to respond".

Naomi looked up at him and saw his frown, "Do you think I say it to hear the words back from you?"

"Why else would you say it?" he asked shaking his head.

Now she got mad, "Hasn't a woman ever told you that she loved you just because she did?"

"Not really. No"

Naomi stood up and looked down at him, "I never expected anything from you. I fell in love with you the first time I saw you. And if you cannot deal with that, then too bad".

As she turned her back and walked toward the kitchen she heard him follow her, "Maybe you only fell for the hero that you think I am. Wake up princess, I'm not. I was only doing my job".

She whirled around to face him, trying her best to mask the pain she was feeling, "I fell in love with the man who helped me. The man who then became my friend and made me realize I could change my life" she looked him up and down taking in his casual checked knee length shorts, white t – shirt and converse sneakers, "You are not that man. You're behaving like a scared little boy".

"I am not scared. I just don't want you to expect anything from me" he said harshly.

She was shocked, he had never spoken to her that way, "Well you know what? I don't expect anything from you" she collected herself and for some reason she did not feel like crying. Maybe it was a sign of her strength, "You've done enough. You helped me get over a particular phobia which was a hurdle for me, and thank you for that Commander". She looked coldly at him, "Now if you leave me alone I have some studying to do".

She stood and stared at him, meeting him eye for eye and refused to show any weakness. To his credit Steve didn't argue or make excuses. He looked angry and somehow confused.

Without another word, he turned and left.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

_**Hey everyone, thanks for all the comments and reviews about Steve's 'stupid' and 'idiotic' behaviour. I just call it 'Steve being a man'! But yes I had a feeling things were a bit too smooth sailing for the two of them and I love a bit of angst and conflict. Enjoy!**_

_One month later_

Steve woke up at the crack of dawn, he turned and looked at his alarm clock and groaned. It was not even five yet. He might as well get up now and get a work out in before heading off to meet Danny for their trek.

As he ran on the beach, his mind whirled. He had just spoken to Mary last night and she had given him an earful on his breakup with Naomi. According to her he was running scared. Which was ridiculous, considering all that he had seen in his line of work and personal life.

But he couldn't help but think that maybe Mary was right. He had completely freaked out by how fast things were going, as he had pointed out to her.

As he walked into his house to shower, he reminded himself that it wasn't that fast. After all he had been thinking about Naomi from the time he had first met her, almost five years ago now. When they had reconnected it had felt as if he had known her a long time. And he had always felt that bond with her, which he had never felt with anyone, even Catherine.

He forced himself to stop thinking about Naomi and got ready to meet Danny.

Around seven thirty, Steve picked up Danny and drove to the Ko'Olau Mountain Ranges in O'Ahu.

"So where are we off to this early in the morning?" Danny asked as he yawned.

"Its this place my dad used to take me. We should bring Grace there one day, when she's a bit older" Steve liked spending time with the little kid, even though he had never thought he was big on kids. Somehow he got along with Grace.

Danny looked at him skeptically, "I better approve of this place before I take my only child there".

"Oh relax will you, all we're doing is going for a walk and having a look at some of the Petroglyphs".

"The What?" Danny asked.

"The Petroglyphs. They're rock paintings" Steve clarified.

"And you woke me up early for this" Danny groaned. "Just because you're frustrated, you're taking it out on me".

Steve looked at him, "I'm not frustrated".

"Then why the hell do you walk around growling at everyone" Danny pointed out. "Since the day you broke up with Naomi, you've been a pain in the ass".

Steve turned to Danny and grinned, "I thought I was always a pain in the ass".

All Danny did was snort at him.

-X-

Naomi was exhausted after another double shift at the café/ bar. It was midnight and unfortunately Shayla was not driving today, which only meant she had to walk home.

She said goodnight to the rest of the staff, collected her bag and walked out into the night air. It was lovely with the sea breeze flowing around her tired, sweaty body. Luckily tomorrow was a Saturday and she didn't have to work. She could sleep in, go to the gym, do her laundry, study; and most importantly try her best not to think about Steve.

It really amazed her that she had not shed one tear over the man. She occupied every moment of her time with some thing to do so she wouldn't have any free time for her brain to think about him. And at night she was so exhausted that she went to sleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

It wasn't healthy, but it was something she had to do. According to Shayla she was going to have a breakdown soon. So when she had it she would deal with it.

For the moment she did not want to dwell on the disaster that was her relationship with Steve. Maybe she wasn't built to have a relationship with anyone. She couldn't have a good one with her father, how could she have a proper relationship with a man.

She sounded like a shrink, but she had been to enough to realize that some of what they talked about was true.

Sometimes she thought about her role in the way Steve had broken things up with her. Had she unwittingly come across as needy and clingy? She had never believed in hiding her feelings, so she had not shied away from telling him how she had felt about him. Apparently that was not the right thing to do.

When she had told Shayla what had happened she had immediately pointed out that it was a mistake to give men an inkling into ones feelings so soon.

She walked into her house and straight away went to the phone and her blinking answering machine; there was one message waiting for her. She activated it and walked into the kitchen. She was in the process of pouring herself a glass of water when Danny's voice filled the room.

"Hey Naomi it's Danny, long time no news from you. Just wanted to let you know that Steve was hurt this morning."

Naomi almost dropped the glass in her hand, her heart stopped as all sorts of awful thoughts raced through her mind.

"Before you start panicking, it isn't anything serious. He just broke his arm and bruised up his face a little. You know how tough he is and I knew he wouldn't call you, but I thought you should know. Hope to see you soon enough. Take care sweetie. Goodnight."

As the message finished Naomi swallowed. Her first instinct was to call Steve. But Danny had also said that he was fine and had only broken his arm and was a bit bruised on his face.

"Oh my God. He broke his arm" she groaned as she sank onto the couch with her head in her hands.

She got up and rummaged in her bag for her phone. She dialed Steve's number and only got voicemail. She didn't leave a message. It was almost 1 AM and he might be sleeping.

She went into her room, showered, changed into her thin nightgown for the summer and went to sleep.

-X-

"Careful there, my man" Danny noticed Steve stumble to his front door. He had never seen his partner stumble before, but he had never even seen Steve drink so much either.

"You okay?" he asked as they walked into the house.

"'Course I am. Why wouldn't I be?" Steve slurred slightly.

"Because you, ninja guy, are drunk".

Steve turned to him and grinned, "Nah, man".

Danny could only laugh at his friend and partner, "Okay buddy. Lets get in".

"You wanna sit on the beach?" Steve asked as he took off his shoes.

"Sure why not".

Steve went to the fridge, took out a couple of beers while Danny raised his eyebrows.

As they sat on the loungers on the sand, Steve popped open a bottle and passed one onto him.

"You sure you should drink with all the medication you're on?" Danny asked.

"What medication?"

"No wonder you're drinking so much", he could only mutter.

As they sat talking on the beach, Steve asked him, "Have you spoken to Naomi lately?"

Danny coughed trying to hide his discomfort, "No I haven't. Why?" he hated lying to Steve but he couldn't help it.

"Nothing. I just wanted to know if she was okay".

"Why don't you call her?"

"I tried in the beginning but she never returned the call. She probably doesn't want anything to do with me" Steve sounded rather lost.

"If you want I can call her" Danny offered, feeling guilty because he already had.

Steve shrugged, "Nah, don't worry about it".

Danny had never seen Steve like this, vulnerable. It didn't help that the man was in physical pain, no matter how much he tried to hide it.

"I think its time to head off to bed. I need to pick up grace tomorrow for school".

Danny didn't like leaving Steve alone like this but there were things that he just could not help with. Or maybe he could.

He had never intervened in anyone's life before. But he liked both Steve and Naomi, and they both needed someone to ram their thick sculls together to make them realize that what they had was something special.

-X-

Saturday morning was busy for Naomi. She did every chore she could think of, then collapsed on the bed. It was only ten in the morning and she was still tired. She had hardly slept at night, thinking about Steve.

So she had called again this morning, but he had not answered.

"Helloooo. Anybody home?"

Naomi groaned as she recognized her roommate Kat's voice. It had been so peaceful while she had been away for more than a month.

The most dreadful thing of all would be, having to explain Steve's absence from her life. For some reason, Kat was always asking about him or talking about him. At first she had been jealous, but then she had noticed how annoyed Steve used to get she started to ignore her.

"In here" Naomi yelled out from her room as she sat up.

Kat walked in, bubbly as ever, "I hope I'm not interrupting anything, but I didn't see Steve's truck outside".

Naomi smiled at her, "And you won't from now on either" might as well get it over with, "We broke up".

Dramatically Kat dropped her bag on the floor with a thud, "Oh sweetie, you wanna talk about it?" she asked hoping to get some details.

"Actually I would rather not" she got up from the bed, "So how was your trip?"

"It was fine. Did some shopping and met up with some old friends" she didn't elaborate like she usually did. Instead she looked at Naomi closely, "You look like you haven't slept in a looooong time".

"Yes, I've just been busy with school and I'm working double shifts, so I don't get much time to relax" they moved to the kitchen.

"And not to mention your break up with Mr. Handsome" she put on the kettle and pulled two mugs from the cupboard, adding two green tea bags. "So what happened?" she asked inquisitively.

Naomi groaned, "It was complicated from the beginning. Both of us were too busy to spend quality time with each other. We just kinda drifted apart".

Kat looked thoughtful, then smiled, "Okay, well when you're ready to go have some fun and forget about him, let me know" she beamed.

Naomi gave her an answering smile, "I will".

Just then her cell phone rung, so she jumped off the stool and reached for it without looking at the display.

"Hello?" there was no reply, so she asked again, "Hello?"

When there was only silence she disconnected the call, not thinking twice about it.

While she was sitting in the library much later that day, she recalled the same thing happening last week. It may have been telemarketers; sometimes there was a lag time between the connection and the ringing of the phone.

Naomi soon forgot about the weird cell phone calls and concentrated on her work. She had a paper due the next day and she was only half way done with it. It was around 1 AM when she left the 24/ 7 library to go home and get some sleep.

As she walked, she spotted a few people, mostly students were the only ones around her. It was a lovely night and she relaxed as she walked, in no hurry to get to her place.

All of a sudden out of nowhere, she got the oddest chill at the back of her neck. It was as if someone watched her. Feeling nervous she looked around, but there was no one around. She started walking faster and relaxed only when she was on her street close to her building.

Naomi hurriedly climbed the stairs to her apartment, rummaging in her handbag for her keys. Her hands were shaking so much that they fell from her fingers. So she bent to pick them up.

When she stood up again, she felt a sharp pain in the back of her head, making her feel dizzy and queasy.

Then all went black.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter twelve**

It was a clear Wednesday afternoon, the weather was great, typically a great Hawaiian sunny day. As usually Danny was complaining about it. Steve's arm was in a caste and his face still hurt from being hit by a rock, but he was lucky to be alive. He could have easily fallen off the cliff.

"Maybe if you take off your tie, you wont feel so hot" Steve offered.

Danny followed him into their building, "I am not giving up my tie. I am the only member of 5.0 who remotely looks like a cop".

"Well then stop complaining".

"I will complain if I want to. Its my way of venting since I can not change the situation I am in".

Steve held the door for him, "How are things with Rachel and step – Stan?"

His partner just shrugged, "As well as things can be expected, I guess. At least she doesn't hassle me about Grace and her safety anymore".

Steve was about to reply when his phone rang. It was an unfamiliar number, but he answered it anyway.

"Hello?"

"Is this Lt. Commander Steven McGarrett?" came the question. It was a woman, but it was an unfamiliar voice.

"Yes. Who is this?" he asked sounding gruff.

There was a slight hesitation before she answered, "I met you the night of Naomi's dinner. My name is Shayla".

Steve jerked hearing Naomi's name, "Hi Shayla. How can I help you?"

"Actually, I am trying to locate Naomi. I was wondering if she was with you? I know you guys broke up but I haven't heard from her since Saturday, so I thought she might be with you. She used to go to your place for extended stays when you guys were together" the woman babbled sounding very worried.

Steve could feel cold sweat beading his forehead, "No Shayla, she's not with me. Did you check with Kat?"

"I called the house but I only got the machine and I don't have Kat's number" she paused, "Steve she was supposed to hand in a paper yesterday and she didn't. I got an email from her address saying she was going to be with her father. But I know she would have at least submitted her work before going. And she wouldn't have emailed me."

Now Steve got really worried, although he didn't show it. He noticed Danny observing his face.

"What's wrong?" he mouthed.

Steve held up his hand, "Shayla stay where you are. I'm going to Naomi's place to check things out".

"Do you want me to come there?" she asked sounding hopeful.

"No you stay put. Are you at work or home?"

"Home".

"Okay stay there and I'll call when I find something. Don't worry, she probably did go home" even though Steve said it to Shayla, he had a feeling he was saying it for his own benefit more than hers.

He disconnected the call and turned to the others. Chin and Kono had joined them by now.

"What's up boss?" asked Kono.

"I think we have a problem" Steve walked checked his gun and started walking to the door from which he had entered, "Naomi's missing. That was her friend Shayla. She said the last she saw her was Saturday and then she got an email saying she was visiting her father".

He stopped and rubbed his eyes, "Kono can you please get me a contact number for Senator Morales?"

"On it boss" and she left.

Looking at Danny he said, "Let's check out her place".

"I'll check her cell phone activity. I'll see if I can get a GPS location. That's if she has it with her" Chin said as he followed Kono.

Steve broke all the speeding laws while driving to her place. He could see Danny hanging on, but he didn't complain and he appreciated that.

Right now he could not think of anything other than finding Naomi.

This could not be happening to her again. And if it was who was behind it? The last time it had happened it was random, it could have been any young girl. But this time, he had a very strange feeling. Could it have something to do with what had happened to Mary? Was Wo Fat involved somehow?

"So what do you think?" Danny asked as they raced down the freeway.

"I don't know" he breathed in, "Danny call her cell phone please?"

Immediately Danny pulled out his phone and called, he put the phone on speaker.

"Hi, you have reached Naomi Morales. I am not available to take your call at the moment, but if you leave a name and number I will call you back as soon as I can. Thank you" her voice rung out from the voicemail.

"Damnit. What could have happened?" he cursed as he realized he didn't have Kat's number either.

"Relax. Kono will get you the senator's number and then you can call him. She probably did go home. Maybe she was not coping well with the breakup" Danny tried to calm him down.

"I fucking should have never broken up with her. I should have moved her into my place instead" he dodged a car, "At least she would have been safe".

"You can't beat yourself up about it. And you have no idea how safe she would have been with you".

They reached her apartment building and Steve didn't bother to park the car properly before jumping out, followed by Danny.

They raced up the stairs, but Steve stopped when he noticed something on the floor. He bent and noticed it was her keys attached to a rubber thong key ring she had bought at the beach once.

"I think that's blood" Danny hunkered down next to him and pointed to a small dried up smear of what looked like a patch of rust, but to their trained eye was most definitely blood.

They got their weapons out, Danny opened the door with the key. They went in quietly, checking each room.

"All clear" said Danny.

"Where is Kat?" Steve wondered. Then he walked into Kat's room and stopped dead.

"What the fuck?" Danny followed him.

The room was completely empty, all the furniture was cleared out. "Danny get Kono and Chin to come and do a forensic check on everything in the house. Kat leaving, her room clean of everything is not something we should take lightly".

"What do you think? She's involved somehow?"

"She may or may not be. I want her checked out" his phone rang, "You got something for me Kono?"

"Boss I have the senator's cell phone number, but when I called all I got was his voice mail. I also called his office and he hasn't been in this week. His staff received an email saying he had an emergency meeting and would be out of the state, no other details. Chin checked the activity on his and Naomi's phone and there has been no calls made from either of them. The GPS from Naomi's cell was inconclusive but we checked all airlines, there was no record of her leaving".

"Okay so that means she may be still on the island".

"I want both of you here to check out the entire apartment. Dust for prints and anything you can find. Don't leave anything out" Steve said as he walked out of the house.

He disconnected the call and then tried Naomi's number again. Nothing.

-X-

Naomi cracked open her eyes, but all she saw was darkness. She felt herself stiffen as she realized her hands were tied together. A sense of déjà vu set in. This had happened before and this was only a nightmare.

She deliberately pinched her finger hard with her nails. This was definitely a nightmare, one she could not wake up from. Her head hurt, but she could not reach up there to assess the damage.

She heard a groan next to her and she stiffened. There was someone else in the room with her.

"Hello?" she couldn't see anyone it was so dark.

"Naomi?" came the familiar voice.

Her eyes filled with tears, "Papa?" she tried to move toward the voice but she then noticed she was tied to a wall. Just like the last time.

"Are you okay, sweetheart?" he asked her.

"Yes, papa. Are you hurt?" she asked because he sounded as if he was in pain.

"I don't think so. Although my head hurts".

"Mine too. I think I was hit on the head. The last thing I remember is a sharp pain in my head and then blackness" they should keep talking that way they wouldn't panic.

"You never called me. This is a nice way to catch up" her father laughed mirthlessly.

"I wanted to call you, but I wasn't sure how it would be. We left on such bad terms".

"I know, _mija_. But I knew exactly what you were doing. And I have to say I am so proud of you".

For a moment Naomi was startled when he called her 'mija'. It had been years since he had called her that. Then she realized what he had just said, "You had me followed?"

"I don't think now is the time to discuss that is it?"

"No now is not the time, but we need to get to that when we get out of here" she replied.

"That's if we ever get out" he sounded dejected.

"We will, papa. They obviously have us here for a reason".

Just then a door creaked open, flooding the room with bright light, blinding both Naomi and her father. The figure of a man walked into the room, but they could not see his face.

"Good morning Senator and Naomi. I hope you are enjoying your stay" the man's voice was familiar to her, and it brought out a cold sweat on her forehead.

"James" her father muttered.

"It has been a long time Senator" he said politely.

"What do you want? And why have you got my daughter involved in this?"

"Your daughter is a very important pawn in what I have planned" he turned to her, "How is Commander McGarrett these days?"

Naomi had no idea what was happening and was a little confused, "I wouldn't have a clue. We broke up a month ago".

"That is too bad. After the show you two put on, it must have been very painful for things not to have worked out" he mocked her.

She didn't answer him, but her father spoke, "James, what is this all about?"

"Oh, come on senator. How could you imagine, that I would be okay with you reneging on our deal?"

"I am a legitimate businessman, and the minute I found out about your unlawful activities, I could never have been associated with that".

"You see senator, I do not suffer fools lightly. I had a lot invested in the deal, both financially and …" he didn't finish but looked toward Naomi with an expression that she had not seen on his face before.

"Papa what is he talking about?" she asked, feeling a little nervous.

Instead of her father, James replied, "Oh so I see. Didn't your father tell you that you were part of the deal?" Before she could say anything he went on, "You see, as part of the takeover of part of my shipping company, your father would not only pay me a pretty sum of money to help keep me afloat, but he also agreed to an arranged marriage between us. To strengthen ties you see". His voice was conversational, as if he were talking about an interesting novel.

"Is this true?" she asked her father.

Again James answered, "Why do you think he would throw you at me every chance he got?"

"Naomi, don't listen to him, _mija_" her father tried to convince her, but the seeds of doubt had already been planted by James.

"So you couldn't get me by taking me out and dating me; you definitely could not get me after my father withdrew his offer; now you resort to kidnapping?" she knew she was talking too much and that could never be a good thing.

"Whatever gets the job done" James smiled.

"What's the use of being tied to a person who does not want to be tied to you?" Naomi asked incredulously.

She heard her father sigh, but it was James who answered, "You see, my sweet Naomi. I no longer want to marry you; after all you are, as they say 'damaged goods'".

Naomi could not believe what was happening to her. The thought that her father had planned to tie her to this man for the rest of her life, "Then what do you want from me?"

"You, my sweet, are going to be the proverbial gun to your father's head to go through with the deal" he said as he moved to the door.

"James, this is madness. I am a senator, if I am missing for longer than a couple of days, questions will be raised" her father tried to reason with this mad man.

"Don't worry, Morales. Everything has been taken care of" James adjusted his suit jacket, "If you both will excuse me, I have a date".

"Make sure you mention the ex – fiancé you have locked up in the basement" Naomi muttered under her breath. She had no idea he had heard her until she felt a sharp slap on the side of her face, cutting her lip.

James caught her head by the hair and pulled her face around to meet him making her flinch with pain, "Be careful, my sweet. We don't want to ruin the pretty face. I like to look at beauty". He let go of her head after he brushed a kiss across her bruised mouth, making her want to gag.

When he left them again, she felt tears run down her cheeks and was glad it was dark so her father could not see her.

"Are you alright, _mija_?" he asked her softly.

She swallowed her terrified tears; she had to be strong. "I am fine, papa".

"I cannot believe I was going to give you to him" he repeated her earlier thoughts.

"He will never get me. Even if I have to die first. I will never let him touch me again" she whispered to herself.

She hoped to God that things did not come down to that. Just the thought of him, touching her again made her skin crawl.

She did not want to go back to the dark place she had retreated to five years ago. It had taken so long for her to get out of it. It had taken Steve to get out of not only the hellhole she had been in physically, but also from the emotional hell she had been in mentally.

"_He also broke your heart and behaved like every other man. He betrayed you, like your father betrayed you"_ a voice said in her head.

Who was she supposed to trust? She could not sit here and wait for someone to come and rescue her. The last time, she had been too naïve and scared to do anything. This time she was still scared, but she also knew she was emotionally stronger. At least she hoped she was.

She had to find a way to get out of here. She had too much to live for.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter thirteen**

_**Thank you to all of those who read, reviewed and enjoyed the last chapter. I want to especially thank SugarMuffin08, who always gives very insightful comments and helps me to go more in depth into the story. I have been really busy with my post grad so I'm sorry for the late update. **_

It was two am, the second night in a row that Steve had not been able to sleep. Even now he lay in bed, after he had exhausted himself at work. They had been working on finding Naomi and another case at the same time, which they could not abandon, even though for the first time his focus was not completely on the case.

All he could think about was Naomi. Every time he closed his eyes, an image of her when he had first rescued her came to him. At that time she had been terrified and the condition she had been in was horrific. He could only hope that she had not slipped into a paralyzing terror again.

He thought back to the days when he used to make Naomi work out in what she used to refer to as his 'boot camp'. Her fitness had started getting better, he had even taught her some self-defense moves, but he knew those would not be enough to fend off a serious offender.

And at this point he was sure her disappearance was suspicious. They had yet to locate her roommate Kat, who had vanished without a trace. Because of the senator's disappearance, the FBI had also gotten involved, which was proving to be a problem.

He needed to get a location on her, then he could contact some of the members of his SEAL team who were available and go get her. It sounded rash and brash, but it was the only way it could be done. They would have to do it the way they had rescued her all those years ago.

There was no point in lolling around in bed, so Steve got up changed into a pair of jeans, t – shirt and shoes. He would head to work and get started on gathering some intel on Naomi and her father's location.

When he reached the Five – O headquarters, a sudden thought came to mind. On a whim he decided to check James Remington. He had conducted a background check on him earlier, but everything had been legit. Maybe he needed to dig deeper.

He called Kono, Chin and Danny to come in early. They were meant to be working on the case, which was a special request by the Governor, but this took precedence. He would call Governor Jamieson and explain the situation once he had some concrete evidence.

He met up with the team at six – thirty am, Kono walked in with a tray of coffees but he was already too wound up to have anything.

"Kono I need you to get as much info on Remington and what he does. I know we already did a background check, but I can't shake the feeling that we missed something" Steve paced as he talked.

"Don't worry boss, if we missed something the first time, we'll get it now" she reassured him and started doing whatever she did best.

Steve turned to Danny, but he stopped to say whatever he was about to say, when he saw his partner's expression.

"Steve I know you're thinking of something extreme, but you need to think this through" Danno paused, "We have nothing against James yet".

"I know but I cannot shake this crazy feeling" he could literally feel his gut twisting.

Danny put his hand on his shoulder, "Just relax, you know nothing can come of you going insane".

Steve knew he couldn't say anything, but he would plan something out. He had contacts even now, even though he was only in the reserves. His team would come and help if they could.

And if they couldn't, then he would try and rescue Naomi all by himself.

-X-

Naomi looked at the clock in front of her. Counting the seconds was the only thing keeping her sane. She was thankful though that both she and her father had been moved from wherever they had been before.

Last night they had been blindfolded and taken out of the room, then they had driven for about two hours and she could tell from the sway that they had been delivered onto a luxury yacht.

She looked at her surroundings, and if she had not been kidnapped and been held captive she would have loved it. But she had instead been locked into this stateroom, separate from her father. As she walked to the little porthole window the door behind her opened. She was shocked at the person who entered it.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Naomi asked.

Kat only smiled at her as she leaned against the door, "Hi there roomie" she said in that annoyingly cheerful voice.

Naomi had never liked her, and now she knew why, "I always thought you were a bit annoying" she voiced her opinion.

"I have heard that before" Kat didn't seem too fazed.

"So you gonna tell me what you're doing here?" Naomi came and sat on the edge of the bed.

Kat walked toward her, taking a seat next to her. She raised her hand and played with a strand of Naomi's hair, making her flinch away from her, "You see roomie, I'm actually James' half sister. And he sent me to keep an eye on his investment".

"Well you didn't do a very good job now did you?" Naomi couldn't hold back the hatred from her voice. "After all you failed to keep me 'unspoiled'".

"Yes I did fail, but I made up for it in a big way" she smiled, and for the first time Naomi noticed that her smile didn't reach her eyes. She had always smiled like that, no wonder she had never warmed to her roommate.

"So you're the one who hit me in the head".

Again Kat smiled, looking rather pleased with herself, "Oh yes, and that earned me big points. You see that wasn't the plan as such, but then you started seeing the hunky SEAL guy" Kat got a dreamy smile on her face, "He was FINE".

Naomi smiled a little, not wanting to show her fear and anxiety at the situation, "So now what roomie?"

"Now, we need to get you dressed, you have a date" Kat got up and walked to the walk in closet. She opened a locked door, then rummaged through it, "Aah, here it is. This should fit you. You two were the same size after all".

"Who are you talking about?" Naomi couldn't help but be inquisitive.

Kat smiled again, "Why James' wife, Mariska".

That was news, "James is married?" she asked somewhat in shock.

Kat shook her head as she pulled out a stunning red beaded gown, "Not anymore. Mariska was depressed and she committed suicide".

"Oh that's sad. When did this happen?" Naomi wanted as many details as possible.

"It was a long time ago. James loved her a lot, but he couldn't save her" for a minute Kat looked at her, "You'll do well, even though I never noticed before".

"Noticed what?" Naomi asked, very curious. The entire situation was completely bizarre.

For a moment Kat looked like she was going to elaborate, but then stopped, "No time for that right now. You need to get dressed, then I'll come back in fifteen minutes to do your make up".

Kat smiled and left. Naomi looked down at the bed where the beautiful red dress had been laid out, complete with matching lingerie and sexy strappy silver sandals, a size larger but still wearable.

On closer inspection she was glad to see that the lingerie was brand new, complete with tags. It was too sexy and she never wore anything like this, but she had no choice.

Her last thought as she walked into the bathroom was that her father was okay and that whatever she was about to do, better be worth it.

-X-

Danny watched Steve sitting in his office going through his phone. He could only hazard a guess, but he was pretty sure his partner was looking at pictures of Naomi.

He had never seen Steve this way. He was still the same laser focused tough guy he always was. The only problem now was that he had no idea how to proceed. They had come to a dead end on everything. Kono was still working on James, even though she had looked over everything twice, hoping she would pick up something she had missed before.

Just as he was about to walk into Steve's office he heard Kono running behind him.

"Call the boss, I picked up something" she ran back to the computer.

Danny opened Steve's office door, "Kono's got something". Danny had never seen Steve move so fast.

They reached the computer when Kono was pulling up something on the screen.

"What've you got Kono?" Steve asked as he braced his arms on the edge of the computer.

"I checked and double checked everything, but nothing hinky was showing up on him. But when I was going over everything the third time, I noticed one thing that kept popping out at me" Kono paused as she through up a picture of a woman, "James Remington was married to a Mariska Szabo, the daughter of a Hungarian peasant turned superrich business tycoon".

They all looked at the picture of a shyly smiling young woman, she couldn't be more than eighteen or nineteen, had dark brown hair, pale skin and wide green eyes. He heard Steve's intake of breath.

"She looks exactly like Naomi" he said.

"Yes, which is very disturbing. Because according to records, James and his wife of two years were holidaying on their yacht near the Greek islands when she mysteriously disappeared eight years ago. It was surmised that she committed suicide because they found a drawer full of anti-depressants on the yacht and at their home".

"So does this mean anything in relation to Naomi?" asked Danny even though he knew the answer. He also knew that Steve knew what was coming, he was quiet only listening but his shoulders had bunched up in a way that reminded Danny of a lion about to pounce on his prey.

"That's not all" Kono rapidly threw up more images, all of women with the same general look, "James has made it a habit to be with women who look like his dead wife. Out of all the women he has been with, two have disappeared, but considering they were call girls, no one looked too closely into it. Another woman died in a car crash, last year and the year before that, one of his girlfriends died of a drug overdose".

They all jumped as Steve banged his fist on the computer, "Why didn't we know this before?" Danny and the rest of them could all see the rage in his eyes.

"Because we were not looking in the right place. His wife's suicide was in Europe and since it was tied up neatly was not a big red flag. The other women all died in different circumstances, well after they had been associated with James" Chin spoke this time as he tried to remain calm.

"How does this tie in with Senator Morales?" this time Danny couldn't keep quiet.

Steve spoke, "Morales was about to sign some business deal with Remington, and I am guessing the way he was pushing Naomi to him and objecting to us being together, there was probably some kind of arrange marriage thing being orchestrated" Steve spoke as he turned to Kono. "Since James has a shipping company, there is no doubt he is using that as his cover. Find out what the deal was with Morales, and what yachts are registered under his name and which ones are in the vicinity or just plain sailing. Also check up on Kat, her name may be an alias so check all known associates of James that match her physical appearance".

Danny followed him as he entered his office and reached for his phone, "Before you do something rash you want to share what you're about to do?" he asked.

"I'm getting my SEAL team together, how many ever I can get. You guys will be my backup. I'm going to inform the SEC NAV about the Senator's disappearance, if they don't know already. We'll have to work with them" Steve proceeded to dial a number.

Danny watched as his partner as he could do whatever he could. The only other time he had ever seen him like this had been when Mary had gone missing. At least they had been able to find her location fairly easily.

Naomi was still missing and they had no idea where to start. Danny could only pray that for the sake of both his friends, Steve and Naomi, they could find her.

-X-

Naomi felt like a pancake had been laid on her face, so heavy was the makeup. She could feel her pores being clogged. The shoes were a little big and she felt as if she were playing dress up in her mother's clothes.

When her make up was done, Kat led her down a corridor into what looked like a den or office. It had a huge mahogany desk complete with a state of the art computer and fax system. The walls were covered in dark wood paneling giving the room feel closed in, making it hard for her to breathe. She heard a door open, so she turned.

In walked James, despite everything looking relaxed in a black tux his bowtie undone, a smile on his handsome face. If someone from the outside saw them, they would see a man smiling at his beautiful date, anticipating a romantic evening. What they didn't know was that the date was chomping at the bit to get away from this madman.

"There you are. May I say you look absolutely beautiful" He came toward her and pressed a light kiss to her forehead, as if he were a lover. She tried to keep her cringe from showing.

James moved to a bar and poured them some champagne that she had not noticed was chilling in a bucket.

"What am I doing here James? Where is my father?" she asked as she accepted the drink, although she had no intention of drinking it.

"All in good time, my love" he caressed her cheek, almost affectionately. "I've changed my mind".

"So you're going to let me go?" she asked hopefully.

James only laughed as he took her glass away from her, put it on a near by table with his, then pulled her into his arms. With a remote she had not seen before he switched on the music. "Oh darling I am not going to let you go. Don't you know you're mine?" he asked indulgently as if he were talking to a child.

He began to dance with her, and Naomi had to do all she could to keep from puking on his shiny shoes. "We are going to be married tomorrow. My captain will marry us, then your father will sign the deal and all will be done".

"Why do you insist on tying yourself to someone who doesn't love you?" Naomi couldn't help but ask, almost wanting to gaud him out of this false romantic mood.

"Oh you'll love me" he sounded so confident.

Naomi couldn't keep the snort in any longer, "I only love one man and he is not here".

It happened so fast she couldn't even blink. James grabbed her throat and sneered in her face, "You will forget about soldier boy. If you want him and your father to live, you will forget him".

Naomi choked as she tried to breathe, his hands were so tight around her throat. She tried to claw at his hands but he didn't budge, "You be a good wife and I'll forgive your little indiscretion. If not, you'll be swimming with the fish, my love" James releaser her throat as she gasped for breath.

He murmured something that Naomi couldn't catch as he kissed her bruised throat apologetically. Then pulled her into his arms in a tight hug, soothingly stroking her hair. She was too shaken up to move out of his sickening embrace.

Naomi spotted a picture on the wall directly in her line of sight. It was a smiling James as he had his arms around a woman dressed in a beautiful white wedding gown. She had dark brown hair and wide green eyes.

Naomi's own green eyes widened as she realized what James had said to her as he kissed her throat.

"I'm sorry my beautiful Mariska".


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen**

_**I am so sorry for the delay in writing this update, I have just been really busy finishing off my Postgrad work, now I can dedicate holiday time to Steve and Naomi. Thanks again for all the wonderful reviews for the previous chapter, I'm glad you are all enjoying the 'creepy' James.**_

_**AN: This story is going to be a little of NCIS:LA cross over since I intend to borrow Sam Hannah to help Steve, his fellow SEAL. I liked this idea since it was hinted in the cross over episode that Steve knew Sam. I think they would be really great together.**_

_**So here is the story – Enjoy!**_

Steve was just entering his office at the 5.0 head quarters after another sleepless night, when he noticed someone was sitting in the visitors seat. He was just about to speak when his visitor stood and faced him.

He could not help but smile at the familiar face of his fellow SEAL Sam Hannah, looking big and bald as usual.

"Sam Hannah, how've you been, man?" Steve said as they both shook hands and slapped each other on the back.

He smiled, but his expression was serious, "Heard some scuttlebutt about you needing some help with finding your lady".

Steve's smile slipped, "You heard correctly. My girlfriend is missing and we suspect that she along with her father, Senator Morales have been kidnapped by a man we believe to be James Remington" Steve led Sam into the main room and pulled up James' file to show him. He relayed the entire case about his wife's suicide and the mysterious disappearances and deaths of James' women.

"So do we have at least an idea of where she may be?" Sam asked him.

Steve sighed tiredly, "We've been working on that for the last two days, but nothing. We believe that James is smart enough not to use one of his own vessels, and is most probably using a rented one under an assumed name or a legitimate associates."

Both men turned around when the rest of the 5.0 team walked in. Introductions were made, and Steve noticed his team seemed rather fascinated by Sam Hannah.

"I am here in whatever capacity you need me to be in" Sam said.

Steve smiled, "Thank you for coming. I trust my team thoroughly, which is why I am keeping them as backup. But I also needed someone who is trained in extraction and rescue".

"Hey man, no problem. I just hope I don't cause any problems for the team."

Sam had just finished his sentence when Danny spoke, "This is something that none of us have much expertise in. No egos here, we'll do whatever it takes to get Naomi back, and if that means letting you and Steve partner up, then you don't have to worry about anything".

Kono and Chin seconded Danny's view. Steve watched his team and Sam as emotions he could not name came over him. In this moment he realized that his team would do anything not just for him, but also for each other. He also realized that he would do the same for each person in that room.

Kono broke the silence when her phone chirped, "Boss I have something" she led them to the computer table, "I ran Kat's DMV photo in the facial recognition software and I just got a hit" she threw up multiple drivers licenses from all over the world. "She has more than ten aliases and is very heavily involved with James' dirty work. Her real name although is Natalya Klebanova, her father was James' father, but when they divorced, his mother went back to her maiden name Remington and changed his name as well".

"Did you find anything under any of her aliases?" Steve asked.

She continued, "Yes. There is a luxury yacht that has been hired under one of her rarely used aliases Rebecca Alexander" Kono brought up an image of the vessel, "According to the coordinates that have been registered on the tracker that is put into every hired vessel, the position is just off the coast of Tampico, Mexico".

Steve sighed in relief, "Alright now we have a location, we just need to get there" before he could come up with a solution, Sam spoke.

"I have already spoken to Hetty Lange and she has given us the use of the jet".

"Is that approved? Or are we going to have to face the music later?" asked Chin with a smile.

"It wasn't approved when I left in it. But I am sure, all has been sorted out. If not for Naomi, then the senator has to be rescued" Sam pointed out.

"Since it's Mexico, we need to be careful, so I think the best thing to do would be to get to Port Isabel in Texas and head out to the Gulf from there. It's the closest we can get to Tampico, without actually entering Mexico" Steve said as he looked at his watch, "We meet at the airfield in an hour, ready to leave".

-X-

Naomi sat on the deck of the beautiful Yacht as a sumptuous breakfast was served to her and James. She felt as if she were in a crazy dream where nothing was wrong, she was only enjoying a great meal with an interesting and articulate man.

In reality, she was terrified for herself and her father, whom she had no idea where he was. She had tried to ask James numerous times, but he either changed the subject or ignored her. It had been three days on this hellish trip to God knows where, but she had to be grateful for the fact that James had postponed their 'wedding'.

Meanwhile she had racked her brain as to what she could do to get away. She knew they were to stop at some port sometime; maybe she could make her escape then. Although she had no idea where they were she would manage somehow.

"What are you thinking of, my love?" James' voice broke her thoughts of escape.

She managed to pull her lips into what hopeful looked like a smile, "Nothing much. I'm just enjoying the sea" she paused for a breath before she asked her next question, "Are we going to dock somewhere at some point? I wouldn't mind getting some shopping done". She almost baulked at question; it was an effort to portray this calm exterior when inside all she wanted to do was scream and rip James to shreds and find her father.

By now she had a suspicion that he was not on this yacht, but somewhere else. She only hoped he was fine.

"And can I trust you to do only the shopping you claim to want to do and not run off on me? Because if you do, you know what would happen" James didn't even look up at her as he said this while reading his newspaper.

Again she smiled, "I am not an idiot James. I would never do anything that would risk my father. Besides, I don't think it would be that bad being married to you" she decided to take that angle, hopefully throw him off how she was actually feeling a little.

Her statement caused James to look up at her, "What made you change your mind?" he asked sharply.

"Well, all the traveling and the glamorous parties are a lot of fun. What girl wouldn't enjoy it? I realized while I was in Hawaii that I prefer the life of luxury" she smiled a little, hoping she sounded convincingly shallow enough.

"Then you should have no problem. I'll keep you happy, sweetheart" he said as he went back to reading his paper.

Another thing she noticed now was that he never called her by her name; he used only endearments to address her. After the time he had attacked her and called her his wife's name, James had not once referred to her as Naomi. It was downright creepy and she had a sneaking suspicion that he was mentally not as stable as he appeared.

The day went by slowly as she sat on the deck and read a boring magazine, always aware that she was being watched by one of James' men. She was never left alone, and even when she needed to use the bathroom someone stood right outside. There was always a man waiting outside her room. Even though the men were dressed in the uniform of the crew, navy polo t – shirts and white shorts, they were big and could not be mistaken as simply the crew.

She looked around her at the blue ocean. She had always been a good swimmer, but there was no sight of land making it completely idiotic to follow her rash thoughts of jumping into the water and making a swim for it.

She thought back to the time she had spent with Steve, he had started making her aware of the dangers she could face, teaching her how to defend herself if need be. She felt her eyes flood with the tears she had refused to shed over him. God knows she missed him so much.

She thought back to the time he had rescued her in Paris. It had been the first time she had set eyes on him, and even though it sounded ridiculous, she had fallen in love with him then and there.

If she could only get a message out to him somehow, she knew he would help her, despite the status of their relationship. If nothing else, Steve was great at his job and he took pride in it. He was also loyal to those he considered his friends and she hoped that if she contacted him, he would consider her a friend and help her.

But how was she supposed to get away from her guard dogs long enough to make use of the communication equipment she had seen in James' office? She could not remember Steve's number, but she did remember Shayla's, if she could only get a message across so someone would know she was in trouble.

She watched the guard dogs standing around, trying to look inconspicuous and failing miserably. If she could come up with some kind of excuse to get into James' office, she could at least send an email or something.

As she sat there trying to come up with a plausible way to get into the office, James came from below deck, "So how is the magazine?" he asked, sitting next to her.

"Interesting. I just learnt that Angelina Jolie is planning to adopt another half a dozen kids".

James' lips quirked at that, "I know how bored you are darling. So, I have decided to reward you for your cooperation" he stretched on the sun lounger and closed his eyes.

"What do you mean?" she asked hoping against all hope that he had decided to let her go.

"In a couple of hours we will be reaching a small port, believe me you'll enjoy it. It's a small fishing village and we can have some lunch there, maybe do a bit of shopping".

Naomi felt her breath leave her body, "That would be great" she said as excitement churned in her belly.

James turned to his cold eyes to her, "Just remember, sweetheart, one wrong move and your father is dead". Just like that he calmly closed his eyes and sunned himself like the snake that he was.

-X-

Steve felt himself calm down as they glided on the water. He always made himself relax before a mission, to make sure that he was level headed and made every decision with a cool a collected mind. Since this was most probably the most important mission of his life, he needed to be extra precautious.

They had reached Port Isabel in the early hours of the morning and had immediately embarked on a fishing trawler. They had to make sure they were not drawing any attention as they followed the coordinates they had for the location of the yacht.

"You okay?" asked Chin, who stood beside him looking at the water.

Steve took a deep breath and inhaled the salt heavy air, "Yeah I am".

"Do you think Naomi is taking this well?" he asked the same question that had been banging around in Steve's mind.

"I can only hope so. She had started doing so well, but she could easily regress back to the way she was after her first trauma".

Chin smiled slightly, "She may just surprise you and everyone who knows her. Women can be very resilient".

"I know, but right now all I have to think about is getting her out of James' hands. The rest we can handle" he sighed remembering his treatment of her, "That's if she will forgive me for behaving like an ass".

"Who was an ass?" Danny asked as he too joined them.

"McGarrett" Chin replied.

Danny snorted at that, "That's nothing new".

"Hey, all this is because of you" Steve defended himself.

"I only pointed out something and you went and threw a hissy fit at her" Danny yelled back.

Before their conversation could turn into a full-blown argument, Sam interrupted them, "If you ladies are done, we just got a signal from the vessel we've been tailing. We should be up soon".

Steve focused once more, "Alright, gear up". He made sure everyone was ready with instructions and they checked their comms to make sure everything was in order.

As soon as they spotted the vessel, which looked stationary, the trawler was given the order to slow down so as not to attract any attention by the loud engine noise.

Steve watched the yacht as it bobbed on the water. He breathed in and felt his body calm down like it always did before he went into battle. He felt his body still, the adrenaline coursing through it. He cleared his mind, almost as if he were meditating. He only had one thought in his head; rescue Naomi.

"The yacht looks like it's deserted" Kono commented. It was not quiet bright yet so if there had been any lights onboard they would have been glaringly obvious. However, it was as if the vessel had no occupants and for a second Steve had a feeling this was wrong. But he couldn't think this way. They were here and they had to board.

"Okay, this will probably play to an advantage for us. Stealth is the key here" he looked over at Sam and then Danny. They both nodded as they prepared to board. "Sam and I go in first, Danny, Kono and Chin follow when we cleared the deck. Remember the less we use our weapons the less attention we attract".

"Got it boss" said Kono.

As soon as Steve and Sam got onto the deck they were aware of some activity on the front of the yacht. Sam looked at him and with hand signals communicated and moved forward from either side of the deck.

Sure enough, there were two armed men sitting on what looked like deck chairs playing cards. Clearing them was easy since neither of them saw it coming when Sam and Steve caught each in a headlock, rendering them unconscious.

"All clear" Steve said through his comm unit to the others, "We're moving in through the front of the yacht, Danno and Konno cover us. Chin, take the side door that leads below deck" once they received an affirmative from the others, they made their way below deck.

It was dark, but contrary to what they believed earlier there were definite signs of life despite the two men earlier. There was evidence of a recent meal in the galley along with unwashed wine glasses. They systematically checked all the rooms, but came up with nothing.

When they reached the last stateroom, Steve took the lead. He slowly opened the door and walked in, Sam following behind him.

"What a nice surprise Steve. And you brought a friend" a familiar female voice said from behind the silk screen in the corner of the room. As expected, out walked Kat dressed in a satin baby doll nightdress, pointing a gun at them.

"Where's Naomi?" he asked without indulging in small talk.

"Aren't you gonna ask how I'm doing?" she asked as she pouted. She moved toward them, but because they were stuck in the door, all Sam and Steve could do was move backward. They had to get her out into the hallway.

"Not interested. Where is Naomi?" he asked again.

Again all Kat did was grimace, "Unfortunately she isn't here, sweetie".

"You have two guns pointed at you, so I think you better talk now" Sam said from behind him. They were doing a good job of keeping the conversation going while luring her into the hallway. Just as they cleared the side door, Chin made his move. He crept up behind her and rested the muzzle of his gun at the back of her neck.

"One wrong move and I blow your head off. Put your weapon down, nice and easy" Chin spoke quietly, his intent clear.

Steve watched as realization dawned in her eyes, there was no way out. She brought her arms out, holding her gun in a position of surrender, "Alright. I'm putting it down" she said as her gun was snatched away by Chin.

Steve and Sam both lowered their guns, "Good, now we talk" he spoke as they led her into one of the abandoned staterooms.

They were about to start questioning her when Danny came in, "We found the senator, Kono is with him".

"Where was he? We checked all the rooms when we boarded" Sam said.

"There was a closet cupboard that led into another chamber that held the senator. It was very well hidden and if we hadn't heard a noise we wouldn't have found it" Danny replied.

Kat laughed when she heard this, "Its going to be fun watching you all search every nook and cranny".

Steve turned to her, "You better tell me where she is or this isn't going to end well for you" he spoke quietly but he knew his rage and intent was clear to her.

"I don't see you as the kind of person who is going to torture someone, especially a woman" she said smug in her confidence.

"Trust me sweetheart, you don't want to try me. There's always a first time" even though Steve knew he would never hurt a woman on purpose, he had to scare her a little.

"Look what I found" Sam walked in holding a satellite phone in one hand and a laptop in the other. Steve watched as a bit of colour bleached out of her face. "Scared now are we?" he asked as he opened it up and started going through the contents.

"I bet brother dear would not be too happy to have all his dirty secrets aired out" Steve hunkered down in front of her, "I recommend that you start talking".

"I would never rat on my brother" she spat out. "I'm going to enjoy it when he gets rid of that slip of a girl just like he did all the others" an unholy grin spread across her face. Steve stood up, pulled his gun out and rested the muzzle on her forehead.

But before anyone could do anything else, the satellite phone started to ring. Sam looked at the ID, "Guess what? Brother dears a callin'"

Steve took the phone from him, "I have something of yours and you have something of mine" Steve spoke into the phone.

"McGarrett. I knew you would get this far sooner or later" James spoke on the other side. "But contrary to what you believe, Kat has her uses but not enough to warrant negotiations between us".

Steve laughed mirthlessly, "I wasn't talking about her. I have all your dirty dealings with me right here. You trade it for Naomi and we forget about everything else".

"I'm not an idiot McGarrett. You being a crusader of the law and all I find it hard to believe that you would let me, a real catch go just for the sake of a girl".

Steve was doing his best to stay calm, "If you know anything about me, you also know I don't strictly adhere to the law to get what I need and neither does the rest of my team. I have the senator with me, so if you try anything sneaky, he is the one who talks about all your dealings".

There was silence on the other end, then James spoke, "Fine. I propose a fair exchange. All the evidence you have against me for Naomi. But I have conditions".

"Name them".

"I want you to come alone. Even a hint of something sneaky like your team following, Naomi is gone never to be seen or heard from again" James gave his ultimatum.

"How do I know if she is still alive?" even as he said this, Steve hoped and prayed that she was alive and this was not all just a trick.

"I have proof" James passed on the phone, then he heard Naomi's voice.

"Steve?" she spoke quietly and she sounded as if she were crying.

"Are you okay?" he asked her keeping his voice in control and not giving into his emotions.

He heard her hesitating then, "I'm okay. But I don't know where my father is".

"Don't worry about him. We found him and he's safe" he told her, "I'm coming to get you, but you have to be as cooperative as possible. Whatever you do, do not piss him off".

"Alright" she said, but the phone was snatched from her.

"Do you agree to the terms?"

"Fine. Where and when?" he asked.

"I am currently sailing just off the coast of Mykonos. You come alone and you have forty – eight hours" James disconnected the call.

Steve watched the rest of the team.

"You know this could very well be a trap" Danny spoke first.

Steve sighed, "I don't have any other option. If he so much as senses something is wrong and that you all are around, he'll kill her".

Chin was working on Kat's laptop when he spoke, "I just found an email from James, stating he is in a yacht named _Eliza Blue_, just off the coast off one of the Greek islands, which he hasn't named".

"He's off the coast of Mykonos" Steve told him.

"Shouldn't be a problem finding it then. We have a team set up in Athens and I can get them started on keeping an eye on him, till you can get to them" Sam spoke.

"That sounds great" Steve said, "Now we get Kat and the senator back to base and keep them safe. Danny and Kono I want you to keep an eye on Kat".

"No problem".

Steve walked out onto the deck and breathed. He was one step closer to Naomi. He prayed that he wouldn't be too late and lose her altogether.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen**

_**AN: I am not a stunt coordinator and I am not a military tactician, so bear with me and hopefully I have described what was in my mind well enough for you all to follow and enjoy. **_

_**Warning: Violence**_

"Today's your lucky day sweetheart. We're stopping off for lunch, fresh sea food" James said to her when he came up behind her.

She quickly wiped the tears that had been running down her face. She put on a fake smile on her face and said, "Sounds great. Where are we going?"

"You'll see" that was all he said as he kissed her neck, like he always did.

They stopped off at one of the Greek islands, although at the time she had not known where they were. She had no idea they had traveled so far from US soil. When she had asked, she had been politely told that she had been drugged and flown in James' private jet to a small island near Crete that he owned.

All through their trip to the small island, which was not bigger than a fishing village they had walked hand in hand as if they were lovers. All the time she had looked for a way to run. But she didn't speak the language so she couldn't tell anyone of the trouble she was in.

When they stopped for lunch at a small taverna, she excused herself to use the bathroom. On her way she spotted an old wall telephone. After using hand signals and limited English that the old man sitting near the phone knew, she managed to make him understand that she needed to make an international call to the US. The old man gave her a toothy grin and reached for the phone.

Meanwhile Naomi looked around nervously, praying that James was still sitting outside. She breathed a sigh of relief when she spotted him talking to one of the servers. She felt a pat on her shoulder when the old man passed on the phone to her.

After a few minutes of babbling into the phone that she spoke no Greek, the operator switched to a broken English, enough to understand that she could make a collect call, so she relayed Shayla's phone number.

As she waited, she felt a heavy hand on her shoulder. Daring to look she turned and saw James' face. Her breath caught in her throat as she realized how much trouble she was in.

"Enjoying your phone conversation?" he asked her very casually with a smile on his face.

To the others around there seemed to be no problem. In fact, the old toothless man actually smiled at her.

"I actually trusted you, fool that I am. In spite of warning you of the consequences" he brought his face close to hers, then kissed her lips, "Now we're gonna go back and I'm going to teach you a lesson you'll never forget".

-X-

Danny watched Steve get ready to board the little motorboat, which looked more like a little dinghy. Steve systematically checked his weapon, both his backups strapped to either ankle. Then not surprisingly watched Steve slip a deadly looking knife into the sheath he had strapped to himself and was placed in between his shoulder blades. Then he donned his black t – shirt and Kevlar vest.

"Are you sure it's the right decision to go it alone?" Danny asked.

Steve looked at him, "I cannot take any chances when it comes to her safety".

"I know what you mean but I think its putting yourself and her at risk by going into this blind" he argued. "Do you honestly think he is going to fairly exchange her for the evidence you have on him?"

"Look, all I can do is trust you guys to get there on time if and when I need backup. I cannot go in there arrogant in the knowledge that we can fool him".

"Okay so you have a point. But just be careful will you?"

"Don't worry Danno. I'll be back to be the pain in ass you always expect me to be" Steve smiled as he moved to the motorboat.

Danny watched as his partner spoke to Sam Hannah and Chin. "We'll be tailing at a fair distance and we have all the surveillance we need to without risking McGarrett with a wire" Sam reassured him.

"Then why do I have this sick feeling that something isn't right" Danny muttered to himself as he followed the others to gear up. This was probably the most risky mission he had been on, and honestly, he had a whole new respect for what McGarrett had done as a SEAL.

-X-

It took Steve around an hour and a half to reach the yacht that held Naomi hostage. He saw the four armed guards dressed as crew pull their weapons out and point them toward him. One of them peered into his little boat to see whether he had anyone hiding in there but it was glaringly obvious that he was alone.

Sam had given him a twenty-minute head start before they would follow him in a stealth craft. That would get them close enough to come in when needed, and Steve knew without a doubt that he would need them.

Next to him was the bag of money, which James had also requested in order to sweeten the deal. He had probably smelled the desperation that Naomi's camp was feeling and decided to milk them to the max. If it were any other situation Steve would have stuck to his guns, but considering the fact that it was Naomi's safety, he was ready to do anything. Lucky for them the senator had enough contacts in Greece to come up with the money they needed at such short notice.

Steve raised his hands by his side in a sign of surrender as one of the men jumped into his craft to check the money. He also patted him down for weapons, however because he had hidden them so well, he only found his main weapon, which meant he still had his back up and knife. He only hoped he would be able to make do with it. He had been unarmed in much worse situations than this.

"He's all clear" the guy checking him said. When they boarded the yacht, the bag containing the money was taken from him while he was led below deck.

As he followed the guard, he checked his surroundings. The yacht was luxurious and large. He counted at least three staterooms and a large galley. The guard stopped in front of the last door, then knocked once before opening it and letting Steve in.

From what he could tell it was a den combined with an office. James was seated on the antique leather couch nursing a crystal glass of whiskey.

"Welcome to my humble abode" he greeted Steve with a wide grin.

"Let's get business over with before we move onto other things. Where is Naomi?" he asked.

James laughed, "Man, you are stubborn" he sipped his drink. "Share a drink and then we'll talk". He poured him a glass as well, then before passing it onto Steve, he took a sip himself, "See? Not poisoned".

Steve took the glass, grateful that it was a small drink, "Thanks". He sat on the couch, the entire situation completely bizarre. "Aren't you going to count your money?"

"I trust you to not be fool enough to risk Naomi's life". He then motioned to another guard standing in a corner, "Make sure Mr. McGarrett is unarmed".

Without a fuss, Steve stood and faced the guard's gun while he was instructed to take off his Kevlar. As a show of faith, he decided to hand over one of his back up weapons. When the guard made a move to pat him down, Steve braced his arm then felt a gun poking him in the back, "You know me enough to not fool around with Naomi's life and I trust you're not stupid enough to hurt her. So, you better trust me and believe I'm unarmed". Steve prayed he was making the right decision, "Trust goes both ways. You have your money, bring me Naomi and you get the evidence you want".

James observed him, then nodded for his guys to lower their weapons, "Get her" he said to one of them who disappeared from the room.

Steve resumed his seat but was stopped when James said, "She's waiting for us on the deck" he smiled as he indicated Steve to proceed him.

When they reached the deck, the sight that greeted him was an echo of his most horrific nightmares.

Naomi stood barefoot, dressed only in a pair of denim shorts and a black sleeveless tank top, which had been ripped in the front revealing the horrible bruises and knife cuts. She had obviously been tortured because the same knife cuts ran down her arms, legs and also one of her cheeks. Her arms were bound together in front of her and she was shaking like a leaf.

All the calm left his body, replacing it with deadly rage. Steve lost his mind.

-X-

She was numb to the pain from the numerous cuts that James had inflicted on her. They were painful and she had lost some blood but not enough to effect her more than weakness, at least for a while. Then she knew she would need medical help.

When she first spotted Steve, she almost fell to her knees in relief, but when she saw his expression of rage take over, a fear settled over her. What was about to happen would not end well.

It all happened so fast. One moment Steve was watching her, the next he had pulled a huge knife from somewhere, got hold of James from the back and held the knife to his throat. Immediately the guards pointed their guns at him, lucky for him they were all in front of him and not in his blind spot.

"One wrong move and he's gone" even Steve's voice had changed. It was quiet, but held so much rage, it even scared her. "Tell them to let her come to my side. If they try and do anything, I will slit your throat and gut you for shark bait" he said to James.

James had gone white, "Listen to him. Just let her go".

Naomi was limping her way to Steve's side when there was a sound of engines. It was obviously a trigger for James because he exploded in movement. He managed to use his strength to twist out of Steve's hold. Before one of the guards could fire his weapon, Steve ducked and pulled out a gun, aimed and shot him in the chest.

Naomi knew she couldn't just stand there so when she saw another one coming toward him, she ran head long into his side, which he obviously was not looking out for. They both went flying into one of the sails. Naomi was lucky enough to land in the mans lap, so she straddled him and with her bound hands, took a hold of his hair and banged the back of his head hard against the mast twice before he went limp.

She got a hold of his gun and ran back to see Danny, Kono and Chin along with a tall, bald black man board the yacht. Steve was covered well so stood where she was, taking in the mayhem in front of her.

Chin and Danny had a hold of James, while Kono rid one of the surviving guards of his weapon. The chaos seemed to be coming to an end, when Steve came toward her, his knife making quick work of her bound wrists.

"You okay?" he asked as he looked at her face.

"I'm fine. Lets just get out of here".

She was calm now but it was because of shock. The real test would be when the adrenalin wore off.

Steve took her hand and led her to the others. She looked at James, his hands handcuffed in the front.

"You sneaky bastard" James spat at Steve. "You're welcome to the whore. She was never a proper wife and she never will be. I only wish I had the satisfaction of watching her die at my hands".

They all watched Sam get a ranting James onto the stealth craft that had brought them to the yacht.

James was as big as Steve, and no one realized how deadly he was until he managed to use his strength to shove Sam to the floor, grabbing his weapon.

In a move so fast he pointed the gun toward Naomi who stood on the deck near the low railing, waiting her turn to board the craft. She watched, almost in slow motion as James discharged the weapon. But she only felt a shove from her side as she fell to the ground. She looked up and realized that Steve had shoved her to the ground.

But only when he started to fall over the low railing into the water did she realize that Steve had taken the bullet that had meant for her.

Before anyone else could react or think, herself included, she jumped in after him.

_**Please review!**_


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter Sixteen**

_**I know I left you all with a giant cliff hanger, but have no fear, the next instalment is here! Here's hoping you guys like this one!**_

**Disclaimer: I do not have any medical knowledge AND ALL THAT IS DESCRIBED BELOW IS KNOWLEDGE GLEENED FROM WATCHING TOO MUCH TV AND READING ARTICLES ON THE INTERNET. I JUST HOPE IT IS ALL BELIEVABLE. **

Danny watched in horror as Steve first shoved Naomi out of the way then took the bullet to his chest. For a split second a panicked look crossed his face before he fell into the water.

Then before anyone could react Naomi let out a shout, got to her feet and launched herself into the water with the effort only adrenalin could have given her after what she had been through.

Without thinking of the fact that he hated water, he turned and dived in. He may not like to swim, but he was a strong swimmer and Naomi could not do this by herself.

He couldn't miss the direction of where Steve's prone body was sinking followed by Naomi, because there was so much blood swirling around them.

Steve's big body looked lifeless as it sank further into the ocean. With a burst of energy he saw Naomi reach him and hook her arms under his outstretched arms and pull, while her small feet frantically peddled the water as she slowly moved upward. He could see the effort she was putting in and how slow she was moving.

Danny sped up and reached them just as Naomi's breath was waning. He took over from her and swam with Steve toward the surface, Naomi passing him by.

When he broke the surface, Naomi was already waiting for them. Kneeling on the edge of the ramp along with Chin and Kono.

Danny hefted Steve's heavy body as Chin, Naomi and Kono pulled him onto the ramp. Danny pulled himself up in time to watch Chin cut Steve's black t – shirt and part the edges to have a look at his wound.

"He's been shot in the chest and he isn't breathing" Kono said as she checked his pulse. "His pulse is thready but there".

"We have medical supplies" Sam tossed a red bag toward them, which Naomi grabbed for. Sam had secured James' body with handcuffs to both his hands and feet.

"His lung has probably collapsed, which may be good because that means he doesn't have water in his lungs" she rummaged for something and whimpered in frustration when she didn't find it, "Chin give me the knife".

"What are you going to do?" asked Danny as he watched her press her fingers to the right side of Steve's chest.

She took off her shredded shirt and passed it to Kono, "Hold this on top of the wound and give pressure so he doesn't lose anymore blood". She again rummaged in the medical bag and came up with an IV tube, which she cut into a length of about six inches. Danny watched as Naomi pressed her fingers on Steve's ribcage, as if feeling for something, then made a neat incision.

She picked up the IV tube she had cut with bloody and shaking fingers, then inserted it into the small cut. As soon as she did this, a barely audible sound escaped and Steve's chest noticeably started to move, indicating his breathing.

"Where the hell did you learn to do that?" Chin asked her. Danny was too stunned and couldn't utter a single word.

"I read it in a book" she said distractedly, "Steve?" she passed a bloody hand over his face. He was still unconscious but at least he was breathing, even if it was shallow and rattling.

"Guys his pulse is getting really low" Kono again said after she measured it once more.

"I think he's loosing a lot of blood. The bleeding isn't stopping" Chin said.

Sam was steering the craft toward the mainland, "There are some bags of plasma in there which will help" he said without looking back.

Danny reached into the bag and pulled out a blood bag filled with fluid, which he then connected with the remaining IV tube and needle. Naomi again took over as she took the needle then, pressed her hand around for a vein in Steve's arm. Once the needle was in, "Danny keep the bag elevated and gently massage it so the plasma will flow easily" she told him.

He did as instructed, then watched as Naomi shifted toward Steve's head and sat with both her legs on either side of his body. She cradled Steve's limp head in her small hands, smoothing his drenched hair.

She looked exhausted and ready to drop, her body was shaking badly, so Chin took off his over shirt and held it for her. When she refused to let go of Steve's head, he gently put one arm at a time into the sleeves.

She bent her head over Steve's, kissing his still lips, all the time she kept whispering, "Steve open your eyes. Please don't leave me" over and over again like a prayer.

Danny prayed along with her, for the first time in a long time.

-X-

**{AN: As a suggestion if you can listen to **_**'No Light, No Light' – Florence + The Machine**_** because that is the music I would imagine as the scenes described ahead played out in my mind, and besides the words kinda fit}**

_**No Light No Light – Florence + The Machine**_

_You are the hole in my head_

_You are the space on my bed_

_You are the silence in between_

_What I thought and what I said_

_You are the night-time fear_

_You are the morning when it's clear_

_When it's over your start_

_You're my head_

_You're my heart_

_Chorus: No light, no light in your bright blue eyes_

_I never knew daylight could be so violent_

_A revelation in the light of day_

_You can choose what stays and what fades away_

_And I'd do anything to make you stay_

_No light, no light_

_No light_

_Tell me what you want me to say..._

It was the scariest thing to see his blue eyes closed and still.

Naomi sat cradling Steve's still, almost lifeless head in her hands. Apart from the fact that his breathing was shallow and a rattling sound passed around his lungs, there was no other outward indication that he was alive. She always teased Steve that he was always expressionless, but his face now was absolutely still, and not in a natural way when he slept.

Sam had informed them that he had radioed for an air ambulance that was waiting for them at shore. It would air lift Steve to the nearest US Naval base.

All any of them could do at this point was pray and hope that Steve would make it. His bleeding had not stopped and he had already lost so much blood that she feared even the plasma would not be enough to help him.

"Please don't leave me" she repeated as she again bent her head over his still face and kissed his cool lips. That was another scary thing; Steve's body temperature was always hot, but now it was rather cool.

She didn't know what she would do if she lost him. It didn't matter that he didn't love her. If he could come all this way to rescue her and put himself in the way of a bullet for her, that meant he cared and she would take that any day over not having him at all.

She felt an arm circle around her shoulders, only then did she realise that she had been crying in great big sobs. She looked up and it was Danny, his face devoid of his always ready smile as he held the plasma bag with one hand and held her with the other. She looked up and saw Kono holding Steve's hand, while Chin had taken over the task of keeping pressure on Steve's wound.

Steve was surrounded by people who loved him. And there was no way that he could be taken away from them.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter Seventeen**

_**I'm sorry to all those who are following this story that I haven't updated in such a long time, especially after ending the last chapter the way I did. I hope everyone liked it. So here is the next part – Enjoy!**_

Steve felt like an eighteen-wheeler had run over his chest.

He felt numb and disoriented when he opened his eyes to a sterile white room, the smell that could only be attributed to a hospital, assaulted his senses, making him cringe.

The bright light, which could only be morning sunlight, flooded his eyes and made him squint as he looked around the room. His narrowed gaze landed on a small table near his bed, with a jug of water and a covered dish on top of it. He looked at the numerous machines around, one to monitor his heart, the other to monitor the morphine that he was being fed. No wonder he didn't feel any pain, he was totally stoned to the gills! Not to mention the number of IV's in his arm.

He heard a rustling to his left side, so he made himself turn. The sight of another hospital bed immediately greeted him, much like his own, just with not so many machines hooked into the person lying in it.

He smiled as he spotted the familiar body, even though her face was turned away from him and she was shrouded in the covers. He knew exactly who was sharing his room.

His bed was close enough that he could reach across and touch her hand, the one that was tapped with an IV needle in it. It almost looked obscene the way the needle had bruised her delicate skin.

Steve lightly touched her soft hand, careful not to disturb the needle. His gaze followed her arm and the numerous shallow cuts and deeper ones that had been bandaged along her arm.

His head started to hurt as the images of Naomi on the yacht flooded in his mind. It was just before the chaos had broken out. He knew that he had reacted badly and completely out of character. Simply put, he had lost control. And it was completely unacceptable for him to do that. As a SEAL.

But as a man who watched the result of his girlfriend's torture by a sadistic bastard, he had reacted the way he needed to.

He did not regret anything. Including getting shot. It was a hazy memory, but he knew what he had done. It had been a gut reaction to push Naomi out of the way. And he would do it again, if she ever were in danger in the future.

Naomi stirred as he caressed her hand. She turned around to face him, his breath stopped in his lungs when he saw the fading bruises and cuts on her face and what was exposed of her neck. Her face was pale and she looked like she had lost weight. He had no idea how long they had been in the hospital.

Steve moved his hand to caress her cheek, a butterfly bandage on her cheekbone. She opened her deep green eyes and blinked at him across the small space between their beds. He could feel his side stretching as he awkwardly tried to stay in physical contact with her. But any amount of pain was worth looking at the expression of surprise and happiness in her beautiful eyes.

"You woke up? Or am I just dreaming?" she whispered almost to herself. She levered onto her arms and turned to him, flinching as the skin of her hand pinched around the IV needle.

She reached over and touched his face, bending her head and kissing his lips. It was a chaste, lingering and sweet kiss that made his trampled chest tighten.

"Yeah I'm up and I would love some water, please" his rusty voice was hoarse and unused.

"Let me get the nurse" she said as she reached for the calling button on his bed. "How are you feeling?" she asked as they waited for someone to come.

"Like a truck ran over me" he smiled slightly.

Naomi only frowned, "You lost a lot of blood and you were unconscious for so long that we were all worried".

Before he could say anything, a nurse dressed in blue scrubs entered the room, "Good morning Commander. Its nice to see you awake". She cheerfully started to ask him questions about how he was feeling, making him describe in detail. "Your vitals look good and your talking, that's always a good sign" she smiled as she looked at Naomi, "Now maybe you will rest easy". The nurse left after she told him that the doctor would be around in a little while.

"What did she mean by you resting easy?" he asked Naomi, who had propped herself by raising the bed.

She averted her eyes, "I couldn't sleep easily that's all".

Steve reached for her hand again, "Were you worried about me?"

Naomi turned back to him and gave him an incredible look, "Well, duh"

He laughed at that slightly, "Just tell me where we are?"

"We're in Bethesda Naval Hospital, and we've been here for a week" she told him.

"I've been out for a week?" he asked surprised. Because he didn't feel as bad as he thought he should.

"Yes you have. And worried everyone around you" she brushed a hand across his brow in a soothing motion. Steve closed his eyes. "Everyone is staying close at my fathers house, because no one wants to go back while you're still in hospital".

"You mean the entire 5.0 team is on leave?" he asked with a laugh. He was pleasantly surprised by his teams loyalty, never expecting them to leave their lives so they could be close to him.

"Well they did have some words with the Governor, but papa spoke with her. Besides, they plainly refused to go back" Naomi reached for the glass of water with the straw in it. She helped him with the straw so he could drink.

"Would I be able to eat anything? I'm so hungry I could eat a horse" he commented as he felt his stomach hollow.

"I think we should wait for the doctor before you ask Danny to get you some food. I can't picture you eating this horrible hospital food, although I don't mind the chocolate moose" she babbled.

"You son of a bitch, you woke up" Steve turned to watch his partner Danny walk into the room, dressed casually in jeans and a white t – shirt.

"Thanks for being so worried about me" Steve said with a smile.

Danny came over, "You scared the shit out of all of us" he carefully placed his hand on Steve's arm, "How're you feeling?"

"You know how it feels to be shot. What do you think?" he said as Danny flinched.

"Probably a hundred times worse than I did" Danny sat himself on the chair nearby, "Its really great to see your eyes open, buddy. The last few days we've been in and out, you lying there as still as a…" he trailed away carefully looking Naomi's way.

Steve followed his eyes and observed silent tears slipping out of her lovely green eyes, "Baby, its okay" he tried to soothe her by taking her hand in his and bringing it to his mouth. He really wanted to take her in his arms and hold her, but he couldn't move without dislodging some tube or the other from his body. Not to mention the pain that was starting to creep up on him.

He must have made a sound because Naomi said, "I think your morphine hasn't kicked in yet".

He grunted as he shifted and tried to make himself more comfortable. "Naomi told me that you guys defied the Governor's orders and remained here".

"Yeah well we needed a vacation after the hell you two put all of us through" Danny smiled slightly. "Honestly, how could you imagine that we would leave you here and work as if nothing had changed? Especially when no one knew what your condition was".

"You guys have to know that I really appreciate that" Steve flinched again, but was pleasantly brought out of his pain when Chin and Kono walked in.

"Even battered, bruised and shot, you still look good boss" Kono commented as she came toward him and kissed him on his stubbly cheek.

"I second that. Welcome back, brah" Chin clasped his hand on Steve's forearm, "You had all of us worried".

"So I heard. But I'm glad I wasn't out for too long".

"A week was long enough" Naomi said from his side, her small hand trembled slightly.

"Alright everyone, good to see the commotion is because you are awake Commander, but I need everyone out while I check you out" a tall man dressed in Naval khaki's and a doctor's white coat interrupted them. He was imposing and managed to shoo all of them out in a space of seconds. Maybe Steve should learn how to do that.

The doctor turned his attention back to Steve, "Good morning Commander, I'm your doctor Captain Gelfand. How are you feeling?"

"Like I've been shot"

"He's very funny" the doctor smiled gently at Naomi. As the doctor checked Steve's wound, he gripped Naomi's small hand harder. "You don't have any infection in the wound, and although you have been unconscious, it was more of a deep sleep than a coma. And we have been monitoring your brain activity and other vitals".

"So that means I can leave soon" Steve asked hopefully.

"What you need to do is relax in this bed, move only if you have to because you have a gaping hole in your chest" Naomi said to him.

The doctor laughed at that, "You need to listen to your lady. If it weren't for her you wouldn't have made it".

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing, I just had to give you mouth to mouth" Naomi said before the doctor could even open his mouth.

"I would be more comfortable if we could keep you for another week or so. But you will have to refrain from any strenuous activities such as… travel back to Hawaii for a while. Just till we can make sure everything is progressing properly".

"I'll make sure he behaves, Captain" Naomi assured him.

Once the doctor left and they were alone again, Steve turned to her, "So you're going to take care of me" he said with a smile.

She smiled back, "Some one has to".

"I'll let you only if I can return the favor" he told her, threading his fingers through hers.

She sighed at that, "Sure but I am not as badly hurt as you".

"You know that's not what I am talking about" he said quietly.

"Then what are you talking about".

This time Steve shifted enough so he could face her properly, "I mean that I made a mistake when I decided to let you go the way I did. I was in love with you and I behaved like an asshole".

"You don't have to feel guilty about anything. And you don't have to tell me that you are in love with me" she sighed again, then with a small smile, "Although I completely agree with the whole behaving like and asshole bit".

All of a sudden Steve felt weary and it must have shown on his face because Naomi spoke again, "I think your morphine is kicking in and you need to sleep. That is the only thing that will help with the healing".

"Alright my little doctor. Kiss me before I blackout again" he heard himself slurring. And just before he lost consciousness once again he felt her kiss his lips just like he felt when he woke up.

When he woke up again, Naomi was still asleep but Danny and Chin were also in the room, talking quietly.

"Hey" he groaned out.

"Your up" Danny came closer, "How are you feeling?"

"I already told you" Steve said, his voice still hoarse.

"I was just trying to be nice" Danny said equally grumpy.

"You two can not let even a minute go by before you start bickering" Chin interjected with a laugh. Then Chin looked at Naomi's bed and said, "She was amazing just after you got shot".

Steve asked, "What do you mean?"

This time Danny spoke, "She realized that your lung had collapsed since you weren't breathing. Then she did one of those procedures with the cutting and shoving in some pipe or some such thing" he trailed off, his hands trying to show him what he was talking about.

Steve's eyes widened, "You have got to be kidding me. Where did she learn to do that?"

"Apparently she read it in a book" Chin said with a laugh.

"Wow" Steve breathed. He had never thought his fragile Naomi doing a procedure that he had performed in an emergency many a time when he had been in the field. In fact the first time he had done it, he had thrown up afterward.

"Yeah. Wow" Danny repeated. "You should have seen her. She was the first one in the water, then I jumped in".

"You mean you actually swam?" Steve teased him.

Danny huffed, "Yeah, you ass. I did swim so I could help Naomi pull you out of the water" he swallowed as he remembered, "But she never stopped working on you till you started breathing again"

"Seriously guys, thanks for everything. For following me on this mission and doing what you did" Steve said as he realized the extent to which his team had trusted his judgment. "You didn't have to".

"Yeah, but you would have done the same for any of us in the same situation" Chin spoke.

"Is Sam here?" Steve asked.

Danny let out a breath, "He stayed for a couple of days, but he was called back to L.A".

Steve nodded and reminded himself to call his friend to thank him for everything.

He would have gone after James alone if he had to. But he was lucky to be working with people who he knew he could trust with his life.

He squeezed Naomi's hand as he felt himself slipping into a morphine induced sleep.

-X-

Naomi relaxed next to Kono on the lounger on her father's porch. They both sipped on iced tea and read Cosmopolitan. The boys were inside playing a game of poker, which her father was demonstrating his superiority in. Perhaps it was the only time when he could best any of them, although judging from Danno's happy voice, he was not doing too badly.

They had all been here for two weeks. Steve had been discharged from hospital earlier than the week that the doctor had predicted. But soon Chin, Kono and Danny would be leaving. In fact they were due to leave tomorrow morning, with Steve and herself following in a week's time.

"I really need to get back to the waves. I can feel the flab of sitting around not doing anything" Kono spoke as she noisily finished her tea.

"Oh please, you look great"

Kono patted her non-existent belly, "I am not accustomed to gourmet meals everyday. You father has spoilt all of us for a normal, working class life. Why the hell would you want to leave this?"

"I just did not find peace here. Only when I relocated to Hawaii did I feel like I was moving forward with my life".

Kono put down her glass then asked, "Are you still interested in coming back?"

Naomi sighed, "No matter what happens now, Hawaii is my home. I have to finish school and I think I'm going to stay on".

"Good, coz God knows I need some female company around".

Naomi laughed at that.

"What are you two girls giggling about?" Steve walked slowly onto the porch. He wore a pair of sweats and his Naval Academy t – shirt, his feet bare. He looked tired and in pain, but he still managed to make her heart race.

"I was just making sure Naomi was coming back to Hawaii" Kono spoke as she got up, "I have to finish packing" she said quickly leaving the porch.

Steve stood there watching her with a look that was unreadable. Rather it was a look that Naomi did not want to read into, fearing she may read it wrong again.

"Have you taken your meds?" she asked him as she stood and moved toward him.

He didn't answer, just pulled her close to him. He looked into her eyes for a long time before he bent his head and claimed her mouth in a kiss that was steamy and reminded her of the times when Steve would kiss her just before they would made love.

He speared his fingers into her hair to hold her head in place as he deepened the kiss. He slipped his tongue in, caressing her, enticing her to come out and play.

Forgetting herself, she pressed closer to his hard body. But she must have pressed too hard because Steve groaned in pain against her mouth.

"Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry Steve" she pulled away, only to be stopped by Steve's powerful arm caging her in.

"Baby stay. It feels so good to kiss you like that" he licked her plump bottom lip. "How long has it been?" he asked.

"Its been a while" her breath was choppy like it always got when he was close to her like this.

Steve sighed and leaned his forehead against hers, looking into her eyes, "And it's all my fault".

Naomi could not bring herself to placate him, because she was well aware that Steve was to blame for their separation. "I didn't expect anything from you when I told you that I loved you. I was just letting you know how I felt".

"And I behaved like an asshole" Steve cupped her face between his big hands, "Sweetheart, please give me another chance. I don't ever want to be without you again". He kissed her hard, "I missed you every single day".

"Then why didn't you call me even once?" she asked as she tried to keep her tears in check.

"Because I was an idiot" he smiled at her, "Why…?" he left whatever he was going to say unsaid.

"What were you going to ask?"

"I was going to ask why you never called me. But I guess that would make me even more of an idiot".

"You guessed right" she smiled up at him, "I don't understand how a man who was in Naval Intelligence, is a top SEAL can be such an idiot when it comes to women".

"Babe that's more of a guy thing than just me" he defended himself, looking serious. "I've been thinking".

"What have you been thinking?" she asked him as he gathered her closer.

Steve nuzzled her hair and ear, whispering "When we get back, you should move in with me".

Naomi stiffened and pulled back to look at his face, "Are you serious?"

"I wouldn't have asked you if I wasn't serious".

She hesitated before giving him an answer. She needed to know if he was actually serious, that he wouldn't freak out again. "I will only do this if you are completely sure that this is what you want, Steve".

Steve looked directly at her, "Naomi, I love you. I know that in the past I have let you down, but I also know what I want. And I want you in my life".

He looked so sincere and adorable that she could not help but believe him. She had to take a chance with this relationship, because she had tried to be without him and although she had survived and she knew she could again, she had still missed him terribly.

But most of all, she knew that Steve would do anything for her. He had risked his life for her, not once but twice now. And she knew with absolute certainty that he would do it again. She also knew that if he were ever in danger she would do anything in her power to help him.

Steve watched her face as she was going through her inner thoughts, "Don't keep me waiting sweetheart. Put me out of my misery" he groaned.

Naomi smiled at him, "Well, I have been quite miserable without you. And I nearly died when you got shot because of me and would not wake up" She put her arms around his neck and tipped her face up to his, "So, I have decided that I will move in with you".

Steve laughed, "You really had me sweating there".

"Oh sailor you are irresistible to me" she kissed and laughed against his lips when he squeezed her tightly to him.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter Eighteen**

_**Hello everyone. I am sorry that I wasn't able to update this story, because I had thought that Steve and Naomi's story was complete. But there was something missing and they had to get a proper ending. So here is the last chapter and I hope you enjoy it. Thank you to all of you who have followed this story and loved it.**_

_**Four Years Later**_

Steve checked the mirror once more before he left the house. He wanted to look his best because tonight was a very important night. Not only was today Naomi's graduation, Steve was also planning on asking her a life-changing question.

For the past three and a half years, they had been living together and they had been some of the best years of Steve's life. He had never been this close to another human being before in his life. If some one had asked him if he wanted to live with a girlfriend before, he would have denied it. But he could never regret his decision. He intended to ask Naomi to marry him tonight so they could have many more years together.

He had bought the ring a few months ago and hidden it in his office safe. He hadn't wanted to risk Naomi finding it. Kono had helped with the ring, since she had pretty much become best friends with Naomi. The two were inseparable and she had even taught Naomi how to surf.

As he drove to the University for the graduation ceremony, he couldn't help but make comparisons between the Naomi who had come back into his life so long ago and the woman she had become now. He couldn't help but feel pride for how she had turned her fear and insecurities into strengths. Her decision to become a counselor for trauma victims was a way for her to overcome her own issues.

She had been divided on her decision to not become a doctor, but she had finally decided that it wasn't for her. She wanted to help people who had been in a similar situation as herself. Steve had done everything he could think of to be therefore her and encourage her and he knew she had many more years of study.

She had slowly become his life, and the funny thing was, he was not spooked and neither did he push her away. Some of the SEAL buddies he was still in touch with joked about how whipped he was, but he just laughed it off. He was happy and he couldn't remember not being happy when he was with her.

And he knew in his heart that he could make her happy.

-X-

"Oh this place is beautiful" Naomi said as Steve led her onto the lanai of the private suite he had hired for the weekend. They were celebrating her graduation first with dinner with all their friends Danny, Kono, Chin and Malia and some of her college friends as well as Shayla. Her father had also flown down for the occasion.

Then after dinner Steve had whisked her off to a helipad where he had hired a helicopter to fly them to The Big Island for the weekend to be spent in a luxury hotel on the beach.

She walked around the lanai that wrapped around the little villa, its view the ocean, the white curtains billowing in the gentle breeze. It was romantic and beautiful and must have cost a bomb.

"Steve, you shouldn't have. This place must be so expensive. Can we afford it?" she asked turning to him. He took her breath away, he was so handsome in his suit and loosened tie.

Steve shrugged casually, "It's a special occasion. We can splurge a little bit" then he smiled cheekily, "You'll just have to refrain from buying the new season Jimmy Choos".

She smiled as she slugged him playfully, "You've become rather savvy in the fashion department".

"Can I help it when I live with a live fashion magazine" he teased her.

"Oh come on, I'm not that bad" she frowned.

He came over and pulled her into his arms, snuggling her closer to his chest, "You could make it easier for me to live with your thousand pairs of shoes if you become my wife".

For a moment Naomi didn't realise what he had just said, "What did you just say?"

Steve cupped her face in his hands tenderly, "I asked you to become my wife" he said, then reached into the inside pocket of his jacket and pulled out a small blue velvet box. He opened the box to reveal a beautiful emerald flanked by two small diamonds on either side in a platinum setting. "Naomi Morales, will you do the honour of becoming my wife?"

Her throat clogged with the tears, but they managed to spill out. She couldn't speak so she smiled and nodded, whispering "Yes".

"Baby just to be sure, you did say yes right?" he teased again.

She laughed, "Yes! Now give me my kiss".

"With pleasure" he grinned as he grabbed her close, slanting his mouth onto hers. He passionately kissed her, deepening the kiss. He pulled away from her, taking the ring out of the box, "You better put this on before I lose it".

The ring fit perfectly, "It's beautiful Steve. I love it".

"I had a little help from Kono" he kissed her hand then led her into the bedroom. The four-poster bed was massive and romantic with sheer white curtains giving them privacy.

"And the hotel and the helicopter ride. I think this is the most romantic proposal ever" she was so happy she couldn't stop smiling.

The next few hours were spent very pleasurably as they made love and laughed and talked through the night. Living together for more than three years had not diminished the romance in their relationship. Steve would sometimes bring her flowers or take her out for a movie and they would neck in the theater like teenagers. They had even managed to take two vacations together, to Spain and Portugal where they had backpacked and then a trip driving cross-country US stopping at all the silly tourist destinations. Both vacations had been planned by him because she had mentioned in passing that she had never been backpacking and she wanted to drive cross country sometime.

They laughed as they recalled how many times they had argued and fought only to make up a few hours later because they couldn't be mad at each other for long, as well as the time they had spent the night sick with food poisoning in Lisbon, spending the night in the bathroom throwing up. Or the time they had danced to street flamenco music in Barcelona on a balmy summers night.

She had spent some of her happiest times with Steve and she was so happy that they would be spending the rest of their lives together. Because she believed in marriage for a lifetime and Steve shared her views as well.

But most of all she was happy that her father had accepted Steve as not just his savior, but the man in his daughters life. They had even become quite close, and whenever her father visited he and Steve would go fishing or just have a drink together. The initial hostility and snobbery her father had showed Steve was now gone.

As Steve slept next to her, she looked at his face. They had been through so much together. Being with Steve, living with him had been an eye opening experience, because it had not been easy. She struggled everyday with the fact that he walked out of the door and she didn't know whether he would come back home in one piece or even alive.

She was ashamed of the fact that she had walked out on him once, because he had not been able to talk to her about a case that had seriously endangered his life because it was a covert operation. She had behaved like a spoiled child, but had thankfully realised her mistake and gone back. Luckily Steve had been waiting with open arms.

Whatever happened she knew that they would always find their way back to each other. They were soul mates and she remembered the night Steve had told her that after the first time he had rescued her in Paris, he had always thought of her eyes.

"Oh goodness, I feel like I keep getting more handsome as you continue to stare at me" Steve mumbled with a straight face.

She giggled, "You're awake and didn't even tell me".

"I was enjoying you're eyes on me too much" he pulled her closer, then rolled her under him.

"You have a big ego" she said breathlessly as he kissed her neck.

"You're purely to blame for that" he continued to kiss her. "So when are you going to put me out of my misery and marry me?"

"When do you want to get married?" she asked him.

He pulled away to look at her, "As soon as we can arrange a license. Do you want a big wedding?"

"I just want to marry you with our friends and families around us. I don't want anything fancy".

"Are you sure? I've been told that women start planning their weddings from the time they can walk" he teased her, kissing her nose.

She put her arms around him then pulled his head down for a deep kiss, "I have you and that's all I'll ever need".

-X-

Steve was glad that Naomi had not wanted a big wedding. As a result, they stood in the garden of her father's house in Virginia, the only decorations around them were the natural beauty of the garden.

There were no chairs set out as pews, no aisle that Naomi walked down. Only a large gazebo that was big enough to fit Danno his best man, Chin, Max and Spoon his groomsmen, Kono the maid of honour; Shayla and Mary the bridesmaids.

The boys were dressed in plain white open necked shirts and slim fitting black suits, while the bridesmaids dressed in short peach colored chiffon dresses.

In the middle stood Steve who faced Naomi dressed in a short lace dress that ended mid thigh, with long lace sleeves and a deep neckline, her hair was down and simply styled with subtle makeup.

But what made the ceremony truly special was the fact that Senator Morales had agreed to become ordained just so he could conduct the ceremony himself.

As Steve stood and took his vows, a peace settled over him. There were no guarantees in life, but whatever happened, he would always have Naomi and she would always have him.


End file.
